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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636067">Run Away</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/robbykeeneslawyer/pseuds/robbykeeneslawyer'>robbykeeneslawyer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cobra Kai (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ALL of the mutual pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I'm so sorry, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mentions of Underage, Multiple times, Mutual Pining, Possible Character Death, anyways :), basically i'm just trying to give robby happiness, bc the writers refuse to, i don't ever describe anything tho, if evelyn and robby could just sit down and talk about their feelings, if they could just talk for like two seconds, is main character almost death a tag??, it gets spicier as the story progresses (aka after ev and robby get super serious), multiple characters, the enemies part is spicy, then none of the plot would happen lmao, we'll see how i feel writing the next parts, well more like friends to lovers to friends to lovers to enemies to lovers, y'all aren't ready</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:42:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>92,953</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636067</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/robbykeeneslawyer/pseuds/robbykeeneslawyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Run Away is a story about Evelyn di Angelo, Demetri's twin sister, and Robby Keene.<br/>Disclaimer: I do quote Cobra Kai at times, and almost all of the characters are from Cobra Kai. I don't own any of these quotes, or any of these characters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> I'm going to break my stupid alarm clock. </em>
</p><p>Evelyn rolled over to slam the snooze button, but she was so tangled in her comforter that she rolled onto the floor instead. It was the first day of her sophomore year of high school, and it was already not going as planned. She unstuck herself from her sheets and made her bed. Even if today was as terrible as it was shaping up to be, at least she would come home to a nice room.</p><p>She bent down to pick up a shirt off of the ground. As she folded it, she felt something soft smack her in the back of the head. "What the-" She said, turning around to see what hit her. She looked on the ground, and saw a large blue pillow. Standing behind that pillow was her twin brother, Demetri. "DEMETRI, I SWEAR-" She picked up the pillow, and threw it back at him as hard as she could.</p><p>He broke out into laughter as he ran out of her room, away from her wrath. Evelyn was by no means a morning person. Demetri, a morning person, knew this and always jumped at the chance to torment her. Evelyn rolled her eyes, and walked into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, put in her contacts, and then started fussing with her hair.</p><p>Evelyn's hair was the bane of her existence. It was technically considered wavy, but she considered it a mess. There was always a nest of frizz on top of her head, and she had a little bit of a bald spot growing from the ponytail that she constantly wore. Evelyn put some product in her hands, and raked it through her black waves. <em> There. That was better. </em> She finished getting ready, and walked out of the bathroom.</p><p>The rest of her morning passed uneventfully. She already hated Algebra 2, but that was normal for Evelyn. She'd always excelled in english and history classes, unlike Demetri, who thrived in STEM. The obnoxious noise of the bell snapped her out of her thoughts, and she checked her schedule. Her next period was English, thankfully. Evelyn stood, placed her books and planner into her bag haphazardly, and walked to her next class.</p><p>The classroom seemed nice, if you discounted how absolutely freezing it was. When was the school going to learn how to use temperature control effectively? It was literally mid-August, so Evelyn was not dressed appropriately for the subzero temperatures inside. <em>Yay, public school.</em> She shivered, and walked to her desk. The teacher had put name tags on each of the desks, presumably in alphabetical order. Her fingers trailed along each of the desks as she walked past, until she landed on hers. di Angelo, Evelyn. Evelyn glanced at the desk right next to her, and noticed that the tag said Diaz, Miguel. She really hoped that he was nice. She didn't recognize his name, so she figured that he must be a new student. There were a lot of bullies at their school, as high school goes, and Evelyn really didn't want to have to deal with sitting next to a bully all year.</p><p>She took out her phone, and started texting Aisha. They were making plans to hang out later, and maybe work on homework together. Aisha was in precal, so she was hopefully going to help Evelyn with her algebra homework. Evelyn heard the chair scrape at the desk next to her, and she looked up.</p><p>"Hi. I'm Miguel." Evelyn instantly knew that Miguel was not a bully. His smile lit up the room, and his eyes shone when he looked at her.</p><p>"Hey, Miguel. I'm Evelyn." She smiled back at him. "So, you're new?"</p><p>He nodded. "Yeah. We just moved here last month." </p><p>"That's fun! Have you been able to find your way around the school? It's kind of a maze." </p><p>"I definitely didn't get lost on my way to my first class. And on my way here."</p><p>"Well, I'm here to help you now! What's the rest of your schedule?" Evelyn asked. He pulled the paper copy of his schedule out of his bag, and the two of them started comparing schedules. They found out that they have English, History, and PE together.</p><p>Their excited chatter was cut off by the teacher entering the room. "Hello, I'm Mr. Greene, and this is Pre-AP English II." He turned on the projector, and showed their book list for the year. "This year we'll be reading <em> The Great Gatsby </em> , <em> Crime and Punishment </em> , <em> Lord of the Flies </em> , and <em> Grapes of Wrath </em>."</p><p>Evelyn instantly noticed that every single one of those books was written by men. "Not another year of white man literature." She said, rolling her eyes. Miguel started to laugh, but was immediately stopped by the look on Mr. Greene's face.</p><p>"Detention, Miss..." Mr. Greene trailed off.</p><p>"di Angelo," she said, beaming at him. </p><p>"Detention, Miss di Angelo." He turned away from her, ready to continue with class as planned. Evelyn wasn't finished, though. She was just getting started.</p><p>"I was just commenting on the fact that not a single one of these books that you picked out for us was written by a woman or a person of color! I don't deserve detention for that." Evelyn did not see this as a fair punishment. She didn't think she deserved to be punished at all, because she was right.</p><p>"I gave you detention for interrupting my class, Miss di Angelo. You should know better than to question a teacher's curriculum." He snapped.</p><p>Evelyn rolled her eyes, which just made her teacher even more angry. "Isn't this class about critical thinking? I'm <em> critically thinking </em> about the curriculum!"</p><p>Miguel decided to insert himself into the conversation. "I mean, she is right, sir. It's 2017. There are plenty of equally awesome books written by people who aren't white men."</p><p>"Detention for you too, Mr. Diaz." Mr. Greene turned his glare to Miguel.</p><p>"That's ridiculous! Miguel said it way nicer than I did, and he gets detention too?" Evelyn was definitely starting to get upset.</p><p>Mr. Greene was done with her. "To the principal's office, Miss di Angelo."</p><p>Evelyn shoved all of her stuff into her backpack, and stormed out of the room.</p><p>"I think I'd better go with her." Mr. Greene nodded. Miguel grabbed his backpack, and followed Evelyn. She was already halfway down the hall by the time he made it out the door, but he managed to catch up to her. "Evelyn. Are you okay?" He was slightly out of breath. Evelyn was fast.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm fine. I just hate the way teachers act sometimes." Evelyn scoffed. "He was just picking on me because I called him out. He wasn't even picking on you! Why'd you say something?"</p><p>"It was the right thing to do. Where is the principal's office, anyways?" He asked.</p><p>"You actually want to go to the principal's office?" She smirked at him. "What are you, my mother?"</p><p>He smiled, rolling his eyes at her. "Thankfully I'm not your mother, but I still think we should go."</p><p>"Fine." Evelyn started walking towards the principal's office, Miguel following.</p><p>They walked and walked, until they finally reached the door of the principal's office. Evelyn knocked gently.</p><p>"Come in!" A friendly voice came from behind the door.</p><p>"Hi, Dr. B." Normally Dr. Baker would have protested the informality of the nickname, but she didn't mind it from her favorite student.</p><p>Dr. Baker's eyebrows furrowed when she noticed the duo. "What happened, Evelyn?"</p><p>Miguel chimed in. "Mr. Greene sent us to your office because Evelyn called him out for only using books written by white men."</p><p>"Again?" Dr. Baker sighed. "You promised you'd stop doing this last year."</p><p>Miguel broke out into laughter. "This has happened before?"</p><p>"Yes, it has." Dr. Baker said, clearly exasperated with Evelyn's antics.</p><p>"I know I said I'd stop, but I was right!" Evelyn protested.</p><p>"Just because you're right doesn't mean you need to disrupt class." Dr. Baker reminded her. Even though Dr. Baker had to be tough, she was very fond of Evelyn. Evelyn got into trouble for calling out teachers on their prejudice, not for drugs or fighting. This was a nice change from Dr. Baker's normal schedule.</p><p>"If I don't say anything, nothing changes."</p><p>"Fine. You're right. However, can I get you to agree to be more civil about it? Actual facts, not just snappy comments." Dr. Baker said.</p><p>"That I can do." Evelyn liked her comments, but Dr. Baker was right.</p><p>"Okay. You can go back to class now."</p><p>Evelyn sighed. "Do we really have to go back to class with Mr. Greene? He just kicked us out like ten minutes ago."</p><p>"Well, Mrs. Hutchinson in the library could always use your help shelving books. I could write you a pass to go there."</p><p>"That sounds perfect. Thank you so much." Evelyn smiled at Dr. Baker, and got up to walk out the door. She was struck by an idea, and turned back. "Dr. Baker?"</p><p>"Yes?" She asked.</p><p>"Could this count as Miguel and I's detention? We each got one."</p><p>Dr. Baker smiled. "Don't push it."</p><p>"Ugh. Bye, Dr. B!" Evelyn waved, and then walked out of the office.</p><p>"Don't let me catch you in here again." Dr. Baker called as they strode out.</p><p>"So, Miguel. First day of school and you've already been to the principal's office. I didn't peg you as the bad boy type." Evelyn said.</p><p>Miguel rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "I think that <em> you're </em>the bad influence here. You're the one who got us sent there."</p><p>"Yeah, but we didn't get in trouble, and I got us out of class for the rest of the period." Evelyn was triumphant with her success.</p><p>"So, where's the library?" Miguel asked.</p><p>"It's right around the corner." They turned the corner, and walked into the library. "Hi, Mrs. Hutchinson!"</p><p>"Hey, Evelyn. There's a stack over there." Mrs. Hutchinson pointed to the back.</p><p>Evelyn and Miguel walked over to the stack of books, and picked a handful up each. She walked down one of the aisles, ready to start shelving. Miguel followed close behind her, a little awe-struck. Evelyn was probably the coolest person that he'd ever met. She seemed super kind, but she was also a badass. The way that she stood up to Mr. Greene was something that Miguel could never see himself doing. However, Evelyn also thought that Miguel was wonderful. He seemed super sweet and funny, and she was very excited to continue getting to know him.</p><p>"So, Miguel. What's your story?" She asked, looking through the fiction section.</p><p>Miguel glanced over at her, definitely confused. "What do you mean?" </p><p>"I'm trying to get to know you." Evelyn explained. "What's your story?"</p><p>"You know you could've just asked what my favorite color or TV show is, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, I know. That's just something that my grandma used to say whenever friends would come over to our house." She took a book out of his arms, and shelved it.</p><p>"That makes sense." He stood there, a contemplative look on his face. "Well, I live with my mom and my yaya. We just moved into our new apartment last month. I like reading, especially comics."</p><p>"You call her your yaya?" Evelyn turned to him. "That is the cutest thing I have ever heard in my entire life."</p><p>"Yeah." He grinned. "Her and my mom are the best."</p><p>"They sound like it!"</p><p>"So, what's <em> your </em>story, Evelyn?" Miguel asked.</p><p>"Well, I live with my mom and my brother." </p><p>"You have a brother? That's cool."</p><p>"Yeah. I've also been dancing since I was four, and I'm on my studio's competition team." She said proudly. Evelyn had put a lot of work into becoming as good at dance as she was. She was good, and she wasn't afraid to admit it.</p><p>This was definitely intriguing to Miguel. "What kind of dance?"  </p><p>"Mostly ballet, but I do some jazz," she explained.</p><p>"Oh, so you're a <em> ballerina.</em>" Miguel teased.</p><p>"I am! It's a lot of fun."</p><p>"I do karate." Miguel was definitely a little intimidated by Evelyn, and he wanted to show that he was cool too.</p><p>"You do karate? I definitely didn't expect that from you." She really didn't. Miguel seemed too sweet to be the aggressive martial arts type.</p><p>"My sensei is the best. You should join!" He turned to Evelyn, beaming.</p><p><em> Definitely not aggressive,</em> she thought. "What's it called?"</p><p>"Cobra Kai."</p><p>"I hate snakes," she replied.</p><p>"Honestly, so do I. It's a cool name, though." Miguel admitted.</p><p>"We'll see about me joining. I'm already pretty busy, but it sounds like you like it a lot." She smiled, and put their final book on the shelf.</p><p>Since they finished shelving all of their books, the two of them walked to the couch at the back of the library. Evelyn sat down on it, and turned to face Miguel. He was sitting on the other end of the couch, and their feet were touching. Evelyn couldn't believe how comfortable she felt around Miguel, considering the fact that she'd only known him for about 30 minutes. Little did Evelyn know that he was thinking the exact same thing.</p><p>"We should do this more often."</p><p>"Get kicked out of class and sent to the principal's office?" he teased.</p><p>Evelyn smacked his foot playfully. "I meant hang out, dummy!"</p><p>"Ouch." He fake winced. "We definitely should, though."</p><p>The bell rang, interrupting their conversation.</p><p>"Do you know where the cafeteria is? I can walk you there." Evelyn stood up, grabbing both of their backpacks.</p><p>"That would be great!" He took his backpack out of her hands, and followed her.</p><p>They walked out of the library, and down the hallways. The halls were completely filled with people, everyone looking for their friends. Evelyn and Miguel followed the flow of people until they ended up in the cafeteria.</p><p>"I need to go through the line. See you later?"</p><p>"Sounds good. Bye, Miguel." Evelyn walked over to her friend Aisha's table, and sat down. "Hey! How was your morning?"</p><p>"Hey!" Evelyn said. "How was your morning?"</p><p>"It's been pretty good so far. I'm really enjoying precal." Aisha was a total math nerd, and she wanted to be an astrophysicist when she grew up.</p><p>"Ugh, as if. I can't imagine actually liking math." Evelyn grinned.</p><p>"I'm one of three sophomores, and the only girl out of the three of us. I'm really glad, though. This means that I'm going to be by myself for most of the year, instead of having to work with other people. That's a win."</p><p>"Absolutely." Evelyn hated group projects. She always ended up doing all of the work, and getting none of the credit. That's just how guys at her school operated.</p><p>"How was your morning?" Aisha asked.</p><p>"It was actually really good, too! I did get sent to the principal's office again, but she didn't punish me, and I got to spend the whole period with the new kid."</p><p>"Ooh! What new kid?"</p><p>"His name's Miguel. He's really nice, and he's super funny." Evelyn said.</p><p>"Aw. That's sweet. Is he cute?" Aisha wiggled her eyebrows jokingly.</p><p>"He is cute, but not like <em> cute </em>cute, you know?" Evelyn explained. "Speaking of Miguel, there he is." She followed Miguel with her eyes, which widened in horror when she noticed what table he sat down at. "Oh, no. I have to go rescue him. Talk to you later!"</p><p>"Bye, Ev." Aisha picked up her phone and started scrolling.</p><p>Evelyn walked over to Miguel, and sat next to him. "Hi, boys." She said teasingly, ruffling Demetri's hair in an attempt to embarrass him.</p><p>Demetri frantically tried to fix his hair, knocking his black glasses askew in the process.</p><p>"You two know each other?" Miguel looked confused.</p><p>"Remember when I said I have a brother? Here he is." Evelyn turned to Demetri, holding her arms out as if she was presenting him.</p><p>Miguel smiled. "I wish I had a brother. I feel like I would be less lonely."</p><p>"You could have this one if you wanted! He's free to a good home." Evelyn paused. "Free to home." She paused again, contemplating. "Free."</p><p>"Ha ha ha. Very funny." Demetri made a face at her.</p><p>"Don't let me interrupt your conversation. I'm sure whatever you were talking about was extremely important." She said, sarcasm dripping from every word.</p><p>"Actually, Demetri and Eli were just telling me about those girls sitting over there."</p><p>"No." Evelyn groaned. "Please tell me you're not crushing on one of the Plastics."</p><p>"The what?" Miguel's eyebrows pinched in confusion.</p><p>"Have you never seen <em> Mean Girls </em>?" He shook his head. "We'll watch it later. Basically, don't mess with those three. Moon, the one in the pink shirt with all the necklaces, she's nice. We've never really talked, but she's also never actively bullied me. Which honestly is a win. Sam, the one in the jean jacket, we used to be attached at the hip. Sam, Aisha, and Ev, the 'Three Musketeers.' Then Sam started hanging out with Yasmine this summer, and that was that. We still talk sometimes, but it's nothing like it used to be. Finally, there's Yasmine. She is the meanest person I have ever met in my entire life. Demetri's been in love with her since middle school, even though she is the human embodiment of evil." Evelyn explained. She turned to Eli. "Which one is he pining for?"</p><p>"Sam." Eli didn't talk a lot, but he's known Evelyn and Demetri since they were babies. Demetri and Eli have the type of friendship that Evelyn used to have with Sam.</p><p>"Ah. Well, I can try to put in a good word for you if you want." Evelyn offered.</p><p>"I'm good. Thanks, though." Miguel shrugged. "So, you and Sam used to be friends?"</p><p>"I think we're still friends. I mean, I <em> hope </em>we're still friends." Evelyn said sadly. Sam really did mean a lot to Evelyn. Like she said, they were practically attached at the hip from ages 5-15. It was hard for her to just give up on Sam and accept the fact that Sam just wasn't the same person that she met 10 years ago.</p><p>"I'm gonna go talk to her." Miguel had made up his mind. Strike first, right?</p><p>"Miguel, no-" It was too late. Miguel had already gotten up out of his seat, and was walking towards the rich girl table. Evelyn winced, realizing how much humiliation he was about to endure. He almost made it all the way there, but Brucks and Kyler beat him to the punch.</p><p>"Hey, Sam. Looking beautiful." Kyler realized that Miguel was staring at Sam. He looked up at Miguel, and waved mockingly. Miguel didn't respond, which made Kyler laugh. "See you later, 'Rhea."</p><p>Miguel turned and walked away, looking defeated. He slammed his tray down at Demetri, Eli, and Evelyn's table. "So, how'd it go?" asked Demetri.</p><p>Miguel threw his hands up, and then returned to staring at Sam.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Miguel. Better luck next time?" Evelyn said gently.</p><p>"Yeah. Better luck next time." He sighed.</p><p>The bell rang, forcing Evelyn to get up from the table and start walking away.</p><p>"Evelyn, wait!" A voice came from behind her.</p><p>"Yeah?" She turned around, confused.</p><p>Miguel was standing behind her. "Can I get your phone number?"</p><p>"Of course!" They exchanged phones, and inputted their contact information. She took her phone back, and smiled at him.</p><p>"See you later!" He waved, and walked away.</p><p>"Bye, Miguel." She turned and walked to her next period, the smile still lingering on her face.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn meets Robby Keene.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn was about to be late for school for the sixth time since the beginning of the year, and it was only October. She didn't care, though. Her phone screen had been broken since summer, and her mom just gave her the money to go get it fixed the night before. She had been researching places online for weeks, and she found this place called Tech Town. She was worried since she'd never been there before, let alone by herself, but it had pretty good reviews online. Evelyn felt her phone buzz for the fifteenth time that minute, and her eyes practically rolled into the back of her head. <em> Ugh, please tell me it's not Demetri again. </em></p><p>Unfortunately for her, it was.</p><p>
  <strong>Demetri</strong>
</p><p>EV. WHERE ARE YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL.</p><p>Calm down. I'll be there soon.</p><p>Evelyn knows better than to text while walking, but she's definitely guilty of doing it. So, she was too busy texting to realize what was happening until she felt herself smack straight into the door leading into the Tech Town. Exasperated, she rubbed her forehead, which was definitely going to bruise later, and walked inside.</p><p>Evelyn startled as she heard a voice come from behind her. "Can I help you?"</p><p>Running her fingers through her now-messy hair, she turned around to face this person. "Hi, yes. I just need to get my phone screen fi-" Evelyn looked up from her phone, and a blush spread like wildfire across her face. This was officially the cutest guy that she had ever seen in her entire life. He had long brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, a deep tan, and green eyes that made her forget her own name. "I- I just came to get my phone screen fixed. Who should I talk to?"</p><p>"You can talk to me. My name's Eduardo, and I'll be helping you out today." Eduardo smiled at Evelyn, and she could actually feel her face turn an even brighter shade of red. While mortifying to Evelyn, he thought that it was adorable. "Can I see your phone?"</p><p>"Yeah, of course. Here it is." His hand brushed against Evelyn's as she handed him her phone, and she had to force herself to keep taking deep breaths so she didn't pass out. There were a few close calls, though.</p><p>"This should take about an hour/hour and a half to fix. If you want to go get a coffee or breakfast or something, it should be done by the time you get back."</p><p>"Ugh, I can't leave here without my phone. It's okay, though. I brought some homework, so I can just sit over there and work," she said.</p><p>"Sounds great. What's your name?" asked Eduardo.</p><p>Evelyn started freaking out a little bit, her usual level headedness completely gone each time he spoke to her. She cleared her throat, trying to calm down. "Wait, what?"</p><p>"Your name. So we know who to call when it's done?" He looked at Evelyn with a smile in his eyes.</p><p>Evelyn didn't notice his smile because she was too busy kicking herself. Of course that's why he asked for her name. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. My name's Evelyn. Evelyn di Angelo."</p><p>"Alright, Evelyn! I'll come find you when your phone's fixed."</p><p>"Thank you so much!" The second Evelyn saw him start walking away, she power walked to the back of the store and picked up her computer, desperate to talk to Aisha.</p><p>
  <strong>Aisha</strong>
</p><p>YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED.</p><p>What happened? Where are you?</p><p>You know how my phone screen's been broken forever now? I finally went to go get it fixed.</p><p>Okay, and? What's the big deal?</p><p>I SAW THE MOST GORGEOUS GUY HERE. HE WAS OUR AGE I THINK?? BUT HE WAS SO FINE I LITERALLY CANNOT SDLJF KILL ME NOW</p><p>What'd he look like?</p><p>WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE HIM, AISHA.</p><p>You wanna go back and scope him out later?</p><p>YES. YES I DO.</p><p>Can you get a pic? For science ;)</p><p>He literally took my phone lmao</p><p>Oh, right. Later then?</p><p>Absolutely!</p><p>I gotta go. Some of us are actually in class right now</p><p>Bye, Aisha. See you later</p><p>Evelyn was knee-deep in her annoyingly long and difficult algebra homework when she heard her name being called. "Evelyn di Angelo?"</p><p>"One second! I'm almost done with this problem." Evelyn frantically scribbled down her answer, and sent up a prayer to the math gods that it was right. "Yes?" Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that it was Eduardo who called her name.</p><p>"Here's your phone!" he said.</p><p>Evelyn took her phone from him. "Thank you so much! Have a great day."</p><p>"You too, Evelyn. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." Eduardo winked at her, and Evelyn just stood there staring at him for about 5 seconds before she remembered how to breathe.</p><p>She waved at him and went to go pay, completely giddy from the interaction she just had. She couldn't wait to get to school and tell Aisha all about him. As she walked back to the city bus stop, Evelyn realized that she forgot to take a photo of him. She brushed it off, because she can just tell them what he looked like for now. They'll go back later to see if they can find him.</p><p><em> Eduardo... that's a really nice name. He seemed really nice, too. Usually guys who are that pretty are so full of themselves, but he didn't seem like that. </em> Evelyn spent the entire ride back to school thinking about Eduardo, which was the first (but most certainly not the last) time he occupied her thoughts.</p><p>By the time Evelyn got back to school, it was already lunchtime.</p><p>"Hey, Ev!" She looked across the lunchroom to see Aisha waving at her.</p><p>Evelyn started walking towards Aisha, lunch in hand. "Hi, Aisha! How was your morning?"</p><p>"It was fine. I had physics, which is always fun. I hear my morning was nowhere near as eventful as yours, though." Aisha laughed, and Evelyn turned red again, thinking about Eduardo. "So? Did you get the photos?"</p><p>"Ugh no, I totally forgot. I was too busy being paralyzed because he winked at me. When can we go back and look for him again?"</p><p>"Oooh, who winked at you?" A familiar voice came from behind Evelyn. </p><p>"Yeah, who?" The second voice laughed.</p><p>"I bet he's not as cute as Miguel or Eli, though." Evelyn turned around, and quickly realized that she'd been surrounded by her brother and his friends.</p><p>"Ugh. Demetri, go away!" Evelyn stood up, turned Demetri around, and started pushing him back to his table.</p><p>"Not until you tell me who's been hitting on my sister!" Demetri smiled at Evelyn playfully, but Evelyn was getting more and more exasperated by the minute.</p><p>"Fine! It was this guy at the Tech Town."</p><p>"Ew. If he works at the Tech Town he's probably like 35 and has a neck beard." Miguel said, wrinkling up his nose in disgust.</p><p>"He was not 35, and he didn't have a neckbeard! Enough from you people! Goodbye, boys." Evelyn shooed them away, desperate to finish her conversation with Aisha.</p><p>Demetri and Eli waved, and started walking away from the table.</p><p>"Text me later, Ev! I wanna know all of the details." Miguel smiled at Evelyn and walked away, following his two best friends.</p><p>"Ugh, Miguel is such a sweetheart. If I didn't just see him like a friend, I feel like he'd be the best boyfriend. And anyways, he's <em> clearly </em>hung up on Sam." Evelyn sighed. She knew Miguel was a good guy, and so was Eli, for that matter. She knew she would never go out with either of them, though. She was too hung up on a guy she exchanged barely 20 words with at the Tech Town.</p><p>"Right?" Aisha's words distracted Evelyn from her thoughts, but Evelyn was still staring at Miguel from across the room. He caught her eye and waved. She waved back, smiling at her friend. Just as Evelyn was about to start talking about her math homework, the bell rang. "Talk to you later!" Aisha got up and started walking away.</p><p>"Bye, Aisha." Evelyn threw her trash away, and walked to class, still thinking about the boy she met this morning.</p><p>But little did Evelyn know that back at the Tech Town, 'Eduardo' was thinking about her too.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn and Miguel hang out at the Halloween dance and talk about Eduardo. Evelyn meets Johnny Lawrence for the first time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cw: misogyny- kyler calls evelyn a b*tch, bullying (towards eli)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Cyberbullying is no laughing matter. Sending a cruel message to someone online can be just as hurtful as saying it to their face.” Counselor Blatt droned on, oblivious to the fact that not a single person was listening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn glanced around the room, and noticed the Plastics tapping away at their shiny new phones. Of course they thought that this lecture excluded them, even though they were probably half the reason that it was happening. She scoffed, and turned back to Aisha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Aisha. You’re never going to believe-” Evelyn started, but she was cut off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to name names, but the other day a mother called me up because her son was crying after some kids online made fun of his facial deformity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn's heart shattered, because she instantly knew who the counselor was talking about. Poor Eli. He was so sweet and super smart, and he didn't deserve a single ounce of the bullying he received on a daily basis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's the kid with the freaky lip.” A voice came from behind her, and she noticed him pointing at Eli. She immediately recognized him from all of those years he spent tormenting Demetri and Eli. Evelyn was sick of bullies, but especially this one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood up, and stormed over to his table. "You should watch your mouth, Kyler. I know being a bully is your only personality trait, but it's not one you should be proud of."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I... I didn't... I'm sorry.” Kyler stammered, not used to people actually trying to stand up to him. Especially not her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That's what I thought.” She rolled her eyes, and then walked back to Aisha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bitch." The word came as a hiss from the table she just left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?” Evelyn slammed her hands down on the table, fire blazing in her hazel eyes. If there was one thing that she hated even more than bullies, it was men calling her a bitch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss di Angelo!” Counselor Blatt exclaimed. “Please sit down!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kyler just called me a bitch! You're literally telling us to stop bullying people, and you're just going to let that slide?” Evelyn was incredulous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Counselor Blatt’s eyes were icy. “Sit. Down.” She cleared her throat, then plastered on a fake smile. "But today, our goal here is to make this school a safe space for all students."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s such bullshit!” Evelyn said to Aisha, still fuming. “If they actually cared about making this a safe space, they would actually do something about the bullying and the name-calling, like what LITERALLY JUST HAPPENED, instead of this ridiculous speech that nobody’s actually paying attention to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Aisha asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don't know.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Anything’s better than this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One last thing.” Counselor Blatt said. “While we're all looking forward to the Halloween dance, let's make sure our costumes are culturally sensitive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, good Lord.” While this topic was extremely important, the school's attempts to discuss it crashed and burned each time. Evelyn knew that this attempt would just make this school lose the last bit of credibility that they had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For example, instead of ‘sexy nurse,’ maybe try ‘gender-neutral hospital employee.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. Why couldn’t they focus on the things that actually mattered in terms of cultural sensitivity, not ‘sexy nurse’ costumes? If they were going to talk about the oversexualization of teenage girls, why couldn't they talk about that instead of shaming people for costumes that they chose to wear?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha excused herself to go talk to Sam, and Evelyn went to sit with her boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Evelyn.” She and Miguel had grown extremely close since that day in the library. They hung out at least once a week, and texted almost constantly. Evelyn felt like she'd known Miguel her entire life, not just since the beginning of the school year.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay, Eli?” Evelyn asked gently. He nodded, but the pain in his eyes was obvious. “I’m sorry, babe. You don't deserve the crap that people put you through.” Evelyn's hand moved to cover Eli's, her hoping desperately to make him feel better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Babe?” Demetri raised an eyebrow at Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Demetri. You know I just mean that in a friendly way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're holding hands,” he pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut </span>
  <em>
    <span>up</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Demetri. Can’t you see that he’s upset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eli’s hand jerked out from under Evelyn’s. “I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn realized she'd just made Eli more upset, and tried to change the subject. “So… what are you people wearing to the dance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm going as a necromancer.” Demetri said, clearly proud of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. “Of course you are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think you’re so cool, what are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>wearing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn turned to look at the counselor, and a smirk broke across her face. “I think I have an idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>------------------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn sauntered into the gym, thrilled with her success. It had taken her the two days since the incident in the cafeteria to put her costume together, but it was perfect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri walked up to her, looking confused. “What are you wearing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm a sexy gender-neutral hospital employee!” Evelyn said, grinning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you are. Only my sister would take a passing comment from the counselor's speech about cultural sensitivity and turn it into her Halloween costume.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She never said that the gender-neutral hospital employee couldn't be sexy!" She turned to Eli, who was standing right next to Demetri. "What do you think, Eli?" She twirled, showing off her costume. Evelyn had scrounged together an outfit composed of scrub pants that she cut into short shorts, a V-neck scrub top, and a white lab coat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you wearing?” Evelyn asked him. She noticed that he was wearing scrubs too, and there was a surgical mask covering his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a plastic surgeon. I fix lips.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn's heart broke at his words. That was just about the saddest thing that she'd ever heard. She started to smile, but her face dropped when she saw someone dressed as a skeleton enter the gym.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The skeleton strode over to them, ending up right next to Evelyn. “Hey, guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face was covered in skeleton makeup, but Evelyn would recognize that voice anywhere. “Miguel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled. “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow. You look incredible!” Evelyn exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks. So do you,” he said. “Let me guess. Sexy gender-neutral hospital employee?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn turned to Demetri triumphantly. “See? Miguel gets it.” She noticed Aisha across the room, standing right next to the snack table. “Bye, boys. See you later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ev!” Aisha said brightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! I like your costume.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like yours too! Mine doesn't work as well without the Chloride, though. Sam said she would do it…” Aisha trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn scoffed. “Of course she did.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam was standing across the room flirting with Kyler, and she was dressed as a Laker girl. As much as Evelyn didn't want to admit it, Sam looked absolutely radiant. Whenever she smiled, the room practically got warmer. The thought of Sam being happy made Evelyn smile too. Even though Sam ditched her and Aisha, Evelyn still wanted her to be happy. Even if that didn't include her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She looks happy with Kyler.” Aisha pointed out begrudgingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That jerk.” Evelyn said, still stinging from the way he talked to her in the cafeteria.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can't believe he called you a bitch!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can.” She shook her head. "I can't believe that the counselor just stood there and let it happen, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha grimaced. “High school, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. High school.” Evelyn noticed Sam walking towards them, and her eyes widened. “Oh, crap. I cannot talk to her right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev, you can't just-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye, babe!” Evelyn scurried away from Aisha. She just didn't have it in her to talk to Sam, so she went back to where Miguel, Eli, and Demetri were still standing. “Hey, boys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Miguel beamed at her, and then held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you may.” Evelyn caught a glance of Demetri, who was rolling his eyes. But, she didn’t care. She took Miguel’s hand, and followed him to the dance floor. She noticed the slight terrified look in his eyes as they both heard the song change to a slow one, which just made her smile. “What, Miguel? Never slow danced with a girl before?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surprisingly, no.” Miguel teased. It wasn’t exactly a secret that hanging out with Demetri and Eli wasn’t great for his social prospects, and stuff hadn’t been much better at his old school. “I have not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, then just follow my lead.” Evelyn made a face at him, breaking some of the awkwardness. The awkwardness immediately came back when she placed his hands on her waist and then wrapped her arms around his neck, though. “Come on. Relax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, ma’am.” Miguel said, his painted lips twitching into a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That just made her pout. “Ma’am? You’re making me feel like an old lady.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re definitely not an old lady,” he reassured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s good news.” Evelyn noticed that he was, in fact, starting to get more comfortable around her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This feeling of comfort was taken from her when he asked the one question that she never expected from him. “So, how’s your Internet stalking going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An instant flush rose into her face. “My what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re Internet stalking neck beard guy,” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not!” Evelyn protested. This was definitely a lie, and they both knew it. “Fine. Maybe I’m stalking a little bit. It’s not going well, though. Don’t know enough about him to be able to find any social media.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel thought for a second. “If you can get a photo of him, we can do reverse image search. Maybe find an Instagram.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started laughing. “Who’s the stalker now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If helping you stalk him is what it takes to get you to stop pining, I’ll gladly help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not pining!” They both knew that this was also a lie. Evelyn had definitely been pining, but she was too afraid to actually go and do something about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can go back to the sketchy tech store and get a photo of him. Or, you could just ask for his number like a normal person,” he teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you to give me dating advice, Mr. I’ve Never Slow Danced With A Girl Before?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coaches don’t play the game.” Miguel shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn moved a strand of hair out of her face. “Very funny.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, when are we going?” he asked, hands still on her waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow at him. “We?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we. I’m your friend. I’m not gonna let you go to the sketchy tech store looking for neck beard guy yourself,” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words just made Evelyn roll her eyes. “For the last time, he doesn’t have a neck beard!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would know that if you actually got a picture,” he teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was too preoccupied to get a picture.” Evelyn pursed her lips, which Miguel pointedly ignored. He wasn’t about to start thinking about his friend’s lips when he was currently slow dancing with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Another approach. That’s it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Oh, is neck beard guy that dreamy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t.” This was a challenge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, Evelyn was never one to back down from a challenge. “Try me, Diaz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch.” Miguel fake winced. “I’ve been demoted to last name status by the only girl that I’ve ever slow danced with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if you keep being a bully, they’re gonna flock to you. Clearly they like that.” Evelyn glanced over at Kyler, who was still standing with Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Miguel followed her gaze, and his forehead tensed slightly. “Actually, I need to go do something. I’ll text you later, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Evelyn blushed as Miguel kissed her on the cheek, and then followed Kyler out of the gym. She could almost feel his face paint clinging to her, so she decided to go to the bathroom and check on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time she got there, Kyler and Brucks were walking out of the boy’s restroom across the hallway, along with two other guys. “That’ll teach ‘Rhea a lesson.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good one, Ky!” Brucks laughed, slapping Kyler’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Evelyn knew she shouldn't, but she ran inside the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was laying on the bathroom floor. His skeleton makeup was slightly smudged, presumably from getting hit in the face. She ran over to him, and quickly realized that he was unconscious. “Damn it, Miguel. Damn it.” Evelyn got back up, and ran outside of the bathroom, looking for help. She saw a scruffy-looking blonde guy hanging around, who was holding a stack of karate flyers. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cobra Kai.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Wait. Are you Miguel’s sensei?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He nodded. “Who are you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Evelyn. Come on. Now.” She let him be the first to file back into the boy’s bathroom, and his face fell when he saw Miguel laying there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shit. Miguel.” Johnny picked Miguel up. “I’ll take him home. He’ll be okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming with you!” Evelyn protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Girls.” Johnny rolled his eyes, and then walked out of the bathroom, still holding Miguel gently in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn followed him out. “So, what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny didn’t even look over at her. “What do you think happened? He got his ass beat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kyler.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Of course that jerk would go after Miguel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that the tall kid with the dumb friend?” Johnny asked. “Thought he’d have learned his lesson after last time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes. “That’s him.” She stopped suddenly. “Wait. This isn't the first time him and Miguel have fought?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it isn’t.” He sighed. “That guy’s a real asshole. Miguel shouldn’t’ve tried to fight him, though. He’s not ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you want him fighting people at all?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes that’s the only way to get through to guys like…” Johnny trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How could he not remember Kyler’s name? I said it like 20 seconds ago. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Kyler?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Johnny nodded. “Guys like </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kyler</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Johnny walked up to what presumably was his car, and buckled Miguel into the back seat gingerly. “So? You coming with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn took a deep breath. “My brother’s going to kill me, but yes.” She took out her phone, and started texting.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Demetri</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Something happened with Miguel. I’ll tell you where to pick me up when I have more details.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where are you? Is Miguel okay?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’ll be fine, hopefully. I'm driving with this guy to Miguel’s apartment. See you soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YOU’RE GETTING INTO A CAR WITH A STRANGE MAN?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Don’t tell Mom</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn put her phone back in her pocket, and proceeded to ignore the buzzing. “So… how long have you known Miguel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny's face was tight with worry. “I started training him in August.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fun! Is he any good?” Evelyn asked teasingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny nodded. “He’s got a lot of potential. Even though he’s a loser.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don't call him a loser!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, are you a loser too?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Depends on who you ask.” Evelyn grinned, and stared out the window as they drove to Miguel’s apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>About ten minutes later, Johnny pulled into an apartment complex. He walked over to where Miguel lay, and picked him up again. Evelyn was starting to get really worried at that point. Miguel had been unconscious for a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She got out quickly, and followed Johnny up to Miguel's apartment. Evelyn tapped on the door, and she heard footsteps shuffling in the background. “Glad you're back, Miggy-” Miguel's mom pulled open the door, and her face dropped. “Oh, God! Miguel!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel's mom took him from Johnny, and laid him down on their couch. Her and Miguel's yaya immediately started fussing over him, until Miguel's mom turned to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who are you?" She asked Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Evelyn. Miguel’s my friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re Evelyn. Nice to meet you. I’m Carmen.” Carmen shook Evelyn's hand. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She wheeled on Johnny, clearly upset. “I don't want to see you near my son ever again. Get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Carmen-” Johnny started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was having none of it. “Get. Out.” She locked the door behind Johnny, and returned to fussing over Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there anything I can do?” Evelyn felt awkward just standing there staring while they helped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can go get another ice pack out of the freezer.” Miguel’s yaya said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn immediately complied, bringing the ice pack and placing it on Miguel's bruised face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did this happen?” Carmen turned to Evelyn, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. One second we were dancing, and then two minutes later I found him lying on the bathroom floor.” Seeing Miguel like that really upset her. Seeing people get hurt was already painful enough, but knowing that it was likely at least four on one was even more painful. Miguel didn’t deserve that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carmen let out a deep sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he going to be okay?” Evelyn asked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so.”  Almost as if her words woke him, Miguel groaned. “Miggy!" Carmen was up on her feet and at his side immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Mom.” He opened his eyes, which focused on Evelyn. “Hey, Evelyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Diaz.” She smiled at him. “Glad you're up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for staying,” he said. "I really appreciate it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it okay if I go now that you’re awake? Demetri’s probably got my mother calling the cops right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would not put that past him. Tell Demetri hi for me.” Miguel waved, and Evelyn walked outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn dialed Demetri's number, and it didn't even ring a full time before he picked up. “Hey, Dem. Can you tell Mom to come pick me up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want me to tell her? No w-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks!” With that, Evelyn hung up the phone.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone 5/5/2021. some editing stuff was changed, but the main change was adding in the ev/miguel dance scene, and i reworked her meeting scene with johnny and her meeting scene with carmen.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn faces off with Kyler, bonds with Miguel, and goes looking for Eduardo.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cw: kyler bullies eli and says more misogynistic things to evelyn (including calling her a sl*t)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn saw Miguel in the hallway the next day at school, and ran up to him excitedly. She quickly noticed the Band-Aid on his forehead, and the bruises coating the rest of his face. “Oh my God, Miguel. You look terrible.”</p><p>“Ouch.” Miguel said, only slightly hurt. “I thought that girls liked bad boys.”</p><p>She smiled jokingly. “You don't look like a bad boy. You look like a guy who got his ass handed to him at the Halloween dance.”</p><p>“Funnily enough, that's exactly what happened." He smiled, too.</p><p>“After you, my liege." Evelyn dipped into a fake bow as she held the door to the gym open.</p><p>“Gym class! Always my favorite." He rolled his eyes. "Especially today."</p><p>Evelyn clapped her hands as an idea struck her. "Ooh! We can totally sit out today."</p><p>“We?" Miguel replied.</p><p>“You're injured! And... I'm helping." She winked.</p><p>“You're helping me be injured?"</p><p>“Do you want to hang out, or do you want to do <em> gym </em>?" Her words were dripping with disdain. Evelyn truly hated gym class.</p><p>Miguel immediately put on a fake limp and stumbled up to the gym teacher, Mrs. Johnson. “Mrs. Johnson? Can I sit out today? I'm injured." He gestured vaguely at his face.</p><p>“Oh my, Diaz. You sure are. What happened?" Mrs. Johnson asked.</p><p>“Uh, I'd rather not say,” he replied quietly.</p><p>“Hm." She shook her head. “Well, of course you can sit out. Take all the time you need."</p><p>Evelyn chimed in from behind Miguel. “Can I sit out too, Mrs. Johnson?"</p><p>"And why exactly do <em> you </em>need to sit out, di Angelo?" Mrs. Johnson turned to Evelyn, arms crossed.</p><p>“I’m sick?" Evelyn coughed very dramatically.</p><p>Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow at Evelyn, and then nodded begrudgingly. “Grab a worksheet packet.” Mrs. Johnson was a very nice lady, despite her unfortunate occupation as a high school gym teacher. How she ended up there, Evelyn would never know.</p><p>Evelyn and Miguel walked away from Mrs. Johnson, fist bumping as they made their way to the bleachers. Sam noticed Evelyn from across the room and waved, a big smile on her face. Evelyn pointed at herself in confusion. Sam nodded, causing Evelyn to wave back. Evelyn sat there, completely stunned. She never thought that Sam remembered that she still existed, let alone would wave at her in front of Yasmine and Moon.</p><p>Moon and Yasmine were sitting with their backs against the gym wall, cracking up about whatever was on Yasmine's phone. Sam was laughing too, but Evelyn knew her better than that. Sam's discomfort was practically written on her forehead in permanent marker. Unfortunately, Evelyn knew exactly what that meant. She whipped out her phone, and opened Snapchat.</p><p>And there it was. Evelyn groaned, and flipped her phone down forcefully. Not <em> another </em>video of Aisha from the dance. Weren't the other 40 enough?</p><p>“You okay, Evelyn?" Miguel asked.</p><p>Evelyn sighed. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just sick of people picking on my friends."</p><p>He instantly knew what she was talking about. “Another video of Aisha?" She nodded. “Can't they just leave her alone? Don’t they have something better to do?"</p><p>“Miguel, you're a mind reader." Evelyn smiled. She'd never met somebody that she clicked with as well as she clicked with Miguel. It really did feel like he was a mind reader sometimes. He just had an innate ability to know exactly what was going on in her head at any given moment.</p><p>“Only for your mind." He smiled back at her.</p><p>“So, Miguel. I've been thinking a lot about what you said at the dance."</p><p>He looked confused. "What did I say at the dance?"</p><p>“About Eduardo,” she explained.</p><p>“Ah.” He grimaced. “Neck beard guy.”</p><p>“He does not have a neck beard! What's it going to take for you to stop calling him neck beard guy?” Evelyn asked, completely exasperated.</p><p>“I already told you. I’ll stop calling him that when you take me to see him,” Miguel reiterated, winking at her.</p><p>She flushed, both at the wink, and at the idea of seeing Eduardo again. “And when exactly am I going to do that?”</p><p>“How’s after school sound?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Yeah.” She nodded, trying to stay calm. “That sounds… that sounds great.”</p><p>The rest of gym class passed fairly uneventfully. Evelyn and Miguel made fun of their horrific gym worksheets until the bell rang, releasing them for lunch. At least they were way more fun when Miguel was there. He always came up with the worst possible answers to the questions, just trying to make her laugh. </p><p>Miguel stood up, clearly still in pain.</p><p>“You okay, Miguel?” Evelyn asked. It really <em> didn't </em>look like he was okay.</p><p>“Yeah. I'm fine.” He winced. “Just don't really feel like going to the cafeteria today.”</p><p>“You’re in luck. I know a place.” She held open the door for him, and he stumbled through it. They walked side by side all the way to the library.</p><p>“This is the place?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You could've just said that we were going to the library.”</p><p>“I wouldn't be as mysterious if I told you everything, would I?” She sauntered over to the table where Demetri and Eli sat, huddled over a pile of books. “Hi, Demetri. Eli.”</p><p>“Hey, Ev. What's going on?” Demetri asked, still practically face-planting in the books.</p><p>“My friend here didn't feel like braving the cafeteria. Too busy whining about how he got beat up.”</p><p>He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “You’re so mean.”</p><p>“You know you love it,” she said, poking his arm playfully.</p><p>“Would you stop flirting with Miguel? It’s weird.” Demetri scowled.</p><p>“Would <em> you </em>stop accusing me of flirting with my male friends? You already got mad about me calling Eli ‘babe’ the other day.” (Evelyn may not have been flirting with Eli, but she was definitely flirting with Miguel. Shh. Don’t tell her.) </p><p>“Because it’s weird!” Demetri exclaimed.</p><p>A familiar voice came from behind Evelyn. “Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”</p><p>“Ooh! I know! A spoiled, insecure, misogynistic bully?” Evelyn asked, a slight smirk in her eyes.</p><p>“Why do you have to be so mean?” Kyler pouted. “I can’t talk to my <em> friends </em>without you stepping in? It’s kind of sad that you always have to be the one defending everyone. It's not right for a girl to get into fights.”</p><p>She scoffed. “Who said I was fighting you?”</p><p>Kyler ignored her, turning his focus on Eli. He pulled Eli out of his chair, and grabbed Eli's face. “Oh, look at this freak.” Kyler smiled. “Oh, shit!” Brucks and Kyler burst out into laughter. “What kind of girl would ever kiss this shit?”</p><p>“I would.” Evelyn stood up, and gently grabbed the back of Eli's shirt, pulling him away from Kyler.</p><p>“You’d kiss anything.” Kyler muttered.</p><p>“Well, I wouldn’t kiss you. So. There’s that.” Evelyn shrugged, the smirk in her eyes having turned into a glare.</p><p>Her words just made Kyler angry. “As if I’d want you, slut.” </p><p>“I swear to God, Kyler.” Evelyn was starting to get really upset at this point. “You are the biggest asshole on the entire planet, and the fact that all you can think to do is bully tells a great deal about your personality.”</p><p>Little did either of them know that Sam was standing behind the bookshelf, and she was starting to get really upset too. She couldn't believe that she was dating a bully, let alone a misogynist.</p><p>“What are you gonna do about it? You know karate, too? What? You gonna fight me?” Kyler mocked.</p><p>Her voice was cold. “Thanks for the suggestion, Kyler. You’re full of great ideas today. I'm gonna learn, and then I am going to kick your sorry misogynistic ass.”</p><p>“Go, Ev!” Sam cheered quietly, praying that nobody could hear.</p><p>“I’m gonna get my ‘sorry misogynistic ass’ kicked by a girl, Brucks! You hear that?” He turned to Brucks, continuing to mock Evelyn.</p><p>Miguel sighed deeply. “Leave her alone, Kyler.”</p><p>"What'd you say? You haven't had enough, 'Rhea?” Kyler advanced on Miguel menacingly. “Huh?” He shoved Miguel, sending him stumbling backwards. “Get the hell out of here, man.”</p><p>Evelyn ran after Miguel, but he was already halfway down the hall by the time that she made it out of the library. She managed to grab the sleeve of his jacket, causing him to whirl around. “Hey.” Her voice was gentle. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>She raised an eyebrow. “You’re not fine. That much is obvious. Do you wanna talk?”</p><p>“Not really,” he replied.</p><p>“I respect that.” Evelyn smiled at him, eyes shining. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”</p><p>He opened his arms for a hug. Evelyn walked straight into them, surrendering herself to his embrace. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and he was holding her waist tightly. “Aw, Miguel. I’m sorry that you have to put up with jerks like Kyler.” She pulled away slightly in order to look him in the eyes, but his hands didn't leave her waist. “You don't deserve this.”</p><p>“Neither do you. I have half a mind to go back and kick his ass for what he called you. Even if I got beat up again, it would be worth it.” His jaw tightened in anger at the thought of Kyler.</p><p>“It’s fine.” She sighed deeply. “I’m used to it.”</p><p>“You shouldn't be. Sexist assholes like Kyler shouldn't be allowed to talk to anybody like that, let alone you.” Miguel said vehemently.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart flew into her mouth. No guy had ever called another guy sexist in front of her before. The person that finally got Miguel to go out with them was going to be the luckiest person alive.</p><p>The bell rang, forcing him to finally let go of her. “Meet you back here later?”</p><p>“You know it.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>The bell's obnoxious noise rang through the halls, releasing Evelyn from the nightmare which was Pre-AP Spanish II. She’d hoped to get better this year, but she learned more Spanish from watching <em> Dora </em> as a kid than in her entire high school career. She threw all of her materials into her backpack, and power-walked out of the classroom. As much as she didn't want to be excited about going to the Tech Town, she totally was. Evelyn scanned the hallway, searching for Miguel. Her eyes locked onto him, and she bounded over excitedly. “Hey, <em> Miggy </em>.”</p><p>“You know you can call me that if you want to, right?” His mom and his yaya were the only people that ever called him Miggy, but he didn't mind it from Evelyn.</p><p>“Only if you call me Ev. The only people who call me Evelyn are my teachers, my mother, and people that don't know me.”</p><p>He grinned. “Okay, <em> Ev. </em>”</p><p>“So, you ready to go?" Evelyn rolled her shoulders back, still struggling to be nonchalant. She was getting there, though. He nodded.</p><p>The two of them walked to the bus station across the street from their school, and got on the bus. Thankfully both of them were already very familiar with how to use public transportation from years of transporting themselves. Once they got onto the bus, Evelyn grabbed onto one of the poles in the middle, while Miguel opted for the overhead bar. This showed off his growing biceps, a fact that Evelyn found hilarious.</p><p>“Trying to show off, Diaz?” She smirked.</p><p>He winked dramatically. “Only for you, di Angelo.”</p><p>They burst out into giggles, eliciting glares from the rest of the people on the bus. Evelyn was laughing so hard that she put her forehead against the pole, trying to stabilize herself. Miguel let go of the overhead bar, and almost fell over when the bus driver braked. He quickly grabbed back onto the bar, but his almost fall just made Evelyn laugh even harder.</p><p>“Did you just call me di Angelo?” She gasped, body still shaking with mirth.</p><p>He threw his non-occupied hand up. “You keep calling me Diaz!”</p><p>“I kind of love that, though,” she said.</p><p>Miguel shook his head, but he was grinning. “You ready?” Miguel noticed that their stop was quickly approaching.</p><p>“Yeah.” She readjusted the straps on her backpack, letting go of the pole. This was a mistake. When the bus driver pulled up to their stop, Evelyn flew across the bus and almost landed in an old man's lap. “Oh, my God. I’m sorry. I’m <em> so </em>sorry.” She raced off of the bus, and impatiently waited for Miguel next to a tree.</p><p>“You-” Miguel started, beaming from ear to ear.</p><p>“Don’t even think about it.” She glared at him.</p><p>He offered his hand dramatically. “Just to make sure you don't fall down again, my lady.”</p><p>“Miguel, I swear.” Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she took his hand. Hand in hand, they started walking towards the Tech Town.</p><p>Evelyn's nerves increased with every step that she took, and were almost debilitating by the time that she opened the door. Miguel let go of her hand, not wanting anyone to think they were together. Especially not if Evelyn finally found this 'Eduardo.'</p><p>“Hi! How can I help you today?" An employee approached the duo. Her name badge identified her as Brenda.</p><p>Evelyn couldn’t speak. Her nerves had completely overcome her. Normally she was good with nerves, but it was just something about this Eduardo guy.</p><p>Thankfully for Evelyn, Miguel was good with words. “Hi, Brenda. My friend here got her phone screen fixed by one of your employees a few weeks back. Eduardo, was it?”</p><p>Evelyn nodded stiffly.</p><p>“She was having some difficulties with the repair, and she wanted to speak with Eduardo about them. Do you know if he’s here, or when he’ll be here?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“I’m so sorry that you're having difficulties.” Brenda reassured Evelyn. “Eduardo actually is here right now. I'll go get him.”</p><p>As Brenda walked away, Miguel turned to Evelyn. "'Hi. I was just...?' You okay, Ev?"</p><p>Evelyn took a deep breath, and shook her head slightly. “Yeah. I’m fine.” She noticed a figure approaching them, and her face immediately scrunched up in confusion. <em> Who’s this? </em></p><p>"Hi. My name's Eduardo. Apparently I fixed your phone screen a few weeks ago, and you're having some difficulties. Can you tell me what's wrong?" He looked up at her, confirming what she'd known from the second she saw him coming. This was absolutely not the same guy. Evelyn stifled a laugh as she realized that he actually did have a neck beard. She blinked repeatedly, as if blinking would make him turn into the person that she’d met a month ago.</p><p>"Well, the big thing that's wrong is that you're not Eduardo,” she said.</p><p>Miguel turned to her, looking shocked. “He’s not? Then who's this?”</p><p>"I'm pretty sure that's my name." Eduardo pointed cheekily to his name badge. "I've had it since I was born, you know."</p><p>"Don’t even try to be cute with me right now. If you're Eduardo, who was that guy here last month wearing your shirt and your name badge?" Evelyn asked innocently, staring him down.</p><p>Eduardo's jaw dropped. He did an admirable job of trying to hide it, but that just cemented Evelyn's belief that there was something extremely fishy going on. “I don't know what you're talking about.”</p><p>“Oh, I think you do.” She stepped a little closer to him. “Unless you want me to tell your manager about this little <em> mistake </em>, you're gonna start talking. And quick. Who is he?”</p><p>“I should not be telling you this.” Eduardo sighed deeply, seemingly considering what would happen if he didn't talk. “His name's Robby. That's all I know about him. He’s trouble, though. I wouldn't go looking for him if I were you.”</p><p>“Well, you’re not me, are you?” Evelyn winked, and walked out of the Tech Town, only one word running through her mind. <em> Robby </em>.</p><p>velyn saw Miguel in the hallway the next day at school, and ran up to him excitedly. She quickly noticed the Band-Aid on his forehead, and the bruises coating the rest of his face. “Oh my God, Miguel. You look terrible.”</p><p>“Ouch.” Miguel said, only slightly hurt. “I thought that girls liked bad boys.”</p><p>She smiled jokingly. “You don't look like a bad boy. You look like a guy who got his ass handed to him at the Halloween dance.”</p><p>“Funnily enough, that's exactly what happened." He smiled, too.</p><p>“After you, my liege." Evelyn dipped into a fake bow as she held the door to the gym open.</p><p>“Gym class! Always my favorite." He rolled his eyes. "Especially today."</p><p>Evelyn clapped her hands as an idea struck her. "Ooh! We can totally sit out today."</p><p>“We?" Miguel replied.</p><p>“You're injured! And... I'm helping." She winked.</p><p>“You're helping me be injured?"</p><p>“Do you want to hang out, or do you want to do <em> gym </em>?" Her words were dripping with disdain. Evelyn truly hated gym class.</p><p>Miguel immediately put on a fake limp and stumbled up to the gym teacher, Mrs. Johnson. “Mrs. Johnson? Can I sit out today? I'm injured." He gestured vaguely at his face.</p><p>“Oh my, Diaz. You sure are. What happened?" Mrs. Johnson asked.</p><p>“Uh, I'd rather not say,” he replied quietly.</p><p>“Hm." She shook her head. “Well, of course you can sit out. Take all the time you need."</p><p>Evelyn chimed in from behind Miguel. “Can I sit out too, Mrs. Johnson?"</p><p>"And why exactly do <em> you </em>need to sit out, di Angelo?" Mrs. Johnson turned to Evelyn, arms crossed.</p><p>“I’m sick?" Evelyn coughed very dramatically.</p><p>Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow at Evelyn, and then nodded begrudgingly. “Grab a worksheet packet.” Mrs. Johnson was a very nice lady, despite her unfortunate occupation as a high school gym teacher. How she ended up there, Evelyn would never know.</p><p>Evelyn and Miguel walked away from Mrs. Johnson, fist bumping as they made their way to the bleachers. Sam noticed Evelyn from across the room and waved, a big smile on her face. Evelyn pointed at herself in confusion. Sam nodded, causing Evelyn to wave back. Evelyn sat there, completely stunned. She never thought that Sam remembered that she still existed, let alone would wave at her in front of Yasmine and Moon.</p><p>Moon and Yasmine were sitting with their backs against the gym wall, cracking up about whatever was on Yasmine's phone. Sam was laughing too, but Evelyn knew her better than that. Sam's discomfort was practically written on her forehead in permanent marker. Unfortunately, Evelyn knew exactly what that meant. She whipped out her phone, and opened Snapchat.</p><p>And there it was. Evelyn groaned, and flipped her phone down forcefully. Not <em> another </em>video of Aisha from the dance. Weren't the other 40 enough?</p><p>“You okay, Evelyn?" Miguel asked.</p><p>Evelyn sighed. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just sick of people picking on my friends."</p><p>He instantly knew what she was talking about. “Another video of Aisha?" She nodded. “Can't they just leave her alone? Don’t they have something better to do?"</p><p>“Miguel, you're a mind reader." Evelyn smiled. She'd never met somebody that she clicked with as well as she clicked with Miguel. It really did feel like he was a mind reader sometimes. He just had an innate ability to know exactly what was going on in her head at any given moment.</p><p>“Only for your mind." He smiled back at her.</p><p>“So, Miguel. I've been thinking a lot about what you said at the dance."</p><p>He looked confused. "What did I say at the dance?"</p><p>“About Eduardo,” she explained.</p><p>“Ah.” He grimaced. “Neck beard guy.”</p><p>“He does not have a neck beard! What's it going to take for you to stop calling him neck beard guy?” Evelyn asked, completely exasperated.</p><p>“I already told you. I’ll stop calling him that when you take me to see him,” Miguel reiterated, winking at her.</p><p>She flushed, both at the wink, and at the idea of seeing Eduardo again. “And when exactly am I going to do that?”</p><p>“How’s after school sound?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Yeah.” She nodded, trying to stay calm. “That sounds… that sounds great.”</p><p>The rest of gym class passed fairly uneventfully. Evelyn and Miguel made fun of their horrific gym worksheets until the bell rang, releasing them for lunch. At least they were way more fun when Miguel was there. He always came up with the worst possible answers to the questions, just trying to make her laugh. </p><p>Miguel stood up, clearly still in pain.</p><p>“You okay, Miguel?” Evelyn asked. It really <em> didn't </em>look like he was okay.</p><p>“Yeah. I'm fine.” He winced. “Just don't really feel like going to the cafeteria today.”</p><p>“You’re in luck. I know a place.” She held open the door for him, and he stumbled through it. They walked side by side all the way to the library.</p><p>“This is the place?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You could've just said that we were going to the library.”</p><p>“I wouldn't be as mysterious if I told you everything, would I?” She sauntered over to the table where Demetri and Eli sat, huddled over a pile of books. “Hi, Demetri. Eli.”</p><p>“Hey, Ev. What's going on?” Demetri asked, still practically face-planting in the books.</p><p>“My friend here didn't feel like braving the cafeteria. Too busy whining about how he got beat up.”</p><p>He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “You’re so mean.”</p><p>“You know you love it,” she said, poking his arm playfully.</p><p>“Would you stop flirting with Miguel? It’s weird.” Demetri scowled.</p><p>“Would <em> you </em>stop accusing me of flirting with my male friends? You already got mad about me calling Eli ‘babe’ the other day.” (Evelyn may not have been flirting with Eli, but she was definitely flirting with Miguel. Shh. Don’t tell her.) </p><p>“Because it’s weird!” Demetri exclaimed.</p><p>A familiar voice came from behind Evelyn. “Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”</p><p>“Ooh! I know! A spoiled, insecure, misogynistic bully?” Evelyn asked, a slight smirk in her eyes.</p><p>“Why do you have to be so mean?” Kyler pouted. “I can’t talk to my <em> friends </em>without you stepping in? It’s kind of sad that you always have to be the one defending everyone. It's not right for a girl to get into fights.”</p><p>She scoffed. “Who said I was fighting you?”</p><p>Kyler ignored her, turning his focus on Eli. He pulled Eli out of his chair, and grabbed Eli's face. “Oh, look at this freak.” Kyler smiled. “Oh, shit!” Brucks and Kyler burst out into laughter. “What kind of girl would ever kiss this shit?”</p><p>“I would.” Evelyn stood up, and gently grabbed the back of Eli's shirt, pulling him away from Kyler.</p><p>“You’d kiss anything.” Kyler muttered.</p><p>“Well, I wouldn’t kiss you. So. There’s that.” Evelyn shrugged, the smirk in her eyes having turned into a glare.</p><p>Her words just made Kyler angry. “As if I’d want you, slut.” </p><p>“I swear to God, Kyler.” Evelyn was starting to get really upset at this point. “You are the biggest asshole on the entire planet, and the fact that all you can think to do is bully tells a great deal about your personality.”</p><p>Little did either of them know that Sam was standing behind the bookshelf, and she was starting to get really upset too. She couldn't believe that she was dating a bully, let alone a misogynist.</p><p>“What are you gonna do about it? You know karate, too? What? You gonna fight me?” Kyler mocked.</p><p>Her voice was cold. “Thanks for the suggestion, Kyler. You’re full of great ideas today. I'm gonna learn, and then I am going to kick your sorry misogynistic ass.”</p><p>“Go, Ev!” Sam cheered quietly, praying that nobody could hear.</p><p>“I’m gonna get my ‘sorry misogynistic ass’ kicked by a girl, Brucks! You hear that?” He turned to Brucks, continuing to mock Evelyn.</p><p>Miguel sighed deeply. “Leave her alone, Kyler.”</p><p>"What'd you say? You haven't had enough, 'Rhea?” Kyler advanced on Miguel menacingly. “Huh?” He shoved Miguel, sending him stumbling backwards. “Get the hell out of here, man.”</p><p>Evelyn ran after Miguel, but he was already halfway down the hall by the time that she made it out of the library. She managed to grab the sleeve of his jacket, causing him to whirl around. “Hey.” Her voice was gentle. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>She raised an eyebrow. “You’re not fine. That much is obvious. Do you wanna talk?”</p><p>“Not really,” he replied.</p><p>“I respect that.” Evelyn smiled at him, eyes shining. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”</p><p>He opened his arms for a hug. Evelyn walked straight into them, surrendering herself to his embrace. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and he was holding her waist tightly. “Aw, Miguel. I’m sorry that you have to put up with jerks like Kyler.” She pulled away slightly in order to look him in the eyes, but his hands didn't leave her waist. “You don't deserve this.”</p><p>“Neither do you. I have half a mind to go back and kick his ass for what he called you. Even if I got beat up again, it would be worth it.” His jaw tightened in anger at the thought of Kyler.</p><p>“It’s fine.” She sighed deeply. “I’m used to it.”</p><p>“You shouldn't be. Sexist assholes like Kyler shouldn't be allowed to talk to anybody like that, let alone you.” Miguel said vehemently.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart flew into her mouth. No guy had ever called another guy sexist in front of her before. The person that finally got Miguel to go out with them was going to be the luckiest person alive.</p><p>The bell rang, forcing him to finally let go of her. “Meet you back here later?”</p><p>“You know it.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>The bell's obnoxious noise rang through the halls, releasing Evelyn from the nightmare which was Pre-AP Spanish II. She’d hoped to get better this year, but she learned more Spanish from watching <em> Dora </em> as a kid than in her entire high school career. She threw all of her materials into her backpack, and power-walked out of the classroom. As much as she didn't want to be excited about going to the Tech Town, she totally was. Evelyn scanned the hallway, searching for Miguel. Her eyes locked onto him, and she bounded over excitedly. “Hey, <em> Miggy </em>.”</p><p>“You know you can call me that if you want to, right?” His mom and his yaya were the only people that ever called him Miggy, but he didn't mind it from Evelyn.</p><p>“Only if you call me Ev. The only people who call me Evelyn are my teachers, my mother, and people that don't know me.”</p><p>He grinned. “Okay, <em> Ev. </em>”</p><p>“So, you ready to go?" Evelyn rolled her shoulders back, still struggling to be nonchalant. She was getting there, though. He nodded.</p><p>The two of them walked to the bus station across the street from their school, and got on the bus. Thankfully both of them were already very familiar with how to use public transportation from years of transporting themselves. Once they got onto the bus, Evelyn grabbed onto one of the poles in the middle, while Miguel opted for the overhead bar. This showed off his growing biceps, a fact that Evelyn found hilarious.</p><p>“Trying to show off, Diaz?” She smirked.</p><p>He winked dramatically. “Only for you, di Angelo.”</p><p>They burst out into giggles, eliciting glares from the rest of the people on the bus. Evelyn was laughing so hard that she put her forehead against the pole, trying to stabilize herself. Miguel let go of the overhead bar, and almost fell over when the bus driver braked. He quickly grabbed back onto the bar, but his almost fall just made Evelyn laugh even harder.</p><p>“Did you just call me di Angelo?” She gasped, body still shaking with mirth.</p><p>He threw his non-occupied hand up. “You keep calling me Diaz!”</p><p>“I kind of love that, though,” she said.</p><p>Miguel shook his head, but he was grinning. “You ready?” Miguel noticed that their stop was quickly approaching.</p><p>“Yeah.” She readjusted the straps on her backpack, letting go of the pole. This was a mistake. When the bus driver pulled up to their stop, Evelyn flew across the bus and almost landed in an old man's lap. “Oh, my God. I’m sorry. I’m <em> so </em>sorry.” She raced off of the bus, and impatiently waited for Miguel next to a tree.</p><p>“You-” Miguel started, beaming from ear to ear.</p><p>“Don’t even think about it.” She glared at him.</p><p>He offered his hand dramatically. “Just to make sure you don't fall down again, my lady.”</p><p>“Miguel, I swear.” Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she took his hand. Hand in hand, they started walking towards the Tech Town.</p><p>Evelyn's nerves increased with every step that she took, and were almost debilitating by the time that she opened the door. Miguel let go of her hand, not wanting anyone to think they were together. Especially not if Evelyn finally found this 'Eduardo.'</p><p>“Hi! How can I help you today?" An employee approached the duo. Her name badge identified her as Brenda.</p><p>Evelyn couldn’t speak. Her nerves had completely overcome her. Normally she was good with nerves, but it was just something about this Eduardo guy.</p><p>Thankfully for Evelyn, Miguel was good with words. “Hi, Brenda. My friend here got her phone screen fixed by one of your employees a few weeks back. Eduardo, was it?”</p><p>Evelyn nodded stiffly.</p><p>“She was having some difficulties with the repair, and she wanted to speak with Eduardo about them. Do you know if he’s here, or when he’ll be here?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“I’m so sorry that you're having difficulties.” Brenda reassured Evelyn. “Eduardo actually is here right now. I'll go get him.”</p><p>As Brenda walked away, Miguel turned to Evelyn. "'Hi. I was just...?' You okay, Ev?"</p><p>Evelyn took a deep breath, and shook her head slightly. “Yeah. I’m fine.” She noticed a figure approaching them, and her face immediately scrunched up in confusion. <em> Who’s this? </em></p><p>"Hi. My name's Eduardo. Apparently I fixed your phone screen a few weeks ago, and you're having some difficulties. Can you tell me what's wrong?" He looked up at her, confirming what she'd known from the second she saw him coming. This was absolutely not the same guy. Evelyn stifled a laugh as she realized that he actually did have a neck beard. She blinked repeatedly, as if blinking would make him turn into the person that she’d met a month ago.</p><p>"Well, the big thing that's wrong is that you're not Eduardo,” she said.</p><p>Miguel turned to her, looking shocked. “He’s not? Then who's this?”</p><p>"I'm pretty sure that's my name." Eduardo pointed cheekily to his name badge. "I've had it since I was born, you know."</p><p>"Don’t even try to be cute with me right now. If you're Eduardo, who was that guy here last month wearing your shirt and your name badge?" Evelyn asked innocently, staring him down.</p><p>Eduardo's jaw dropped. He did an admirable job of trying to hide it, but that just cemented Evelyn's belief that there was something extremely fishy going on. “I don't know what you're talking about.”</p><p>“Oh, I think you do.” She stepped a little closer to him. “Unless you want me to tell your manager about this little <em> mistake </em>, you're gonna start talking. And quick. Who is he?”</p><p>“I should not be telling you this.” Eduardo sighed deeply, seemingly considering what would happen if he didn't talk. “His name's Robby. That's all I know about him. He’s trouble, though. I wouldn't go looking for him if I were you.”</p><p>“Well, you’re not me, are you?” Evelyn winked, and walked out of the Tech Town, only one word running through her mind. <em> Robby </em>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone 5/5/2021. the kyler scene got reworded, the ev/miguel scene immediately following got reworded, and some other editing things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn joins Cobra Kai.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I want to join Cobra Kai.”</p><p>“You what?” Miguel whipped around to look at her, and almost dropped his books. Ever since their first meeting, Miguel and Evelyn made regular stops to the library to help Mrs. Hutchinson.</p><p>“I want to join Cobra Kai. I told Kyler that I was going to learn karate, and then I was going to kick his sorry misogynistic ass. I want to follow through on that promise.”</p><p>“Oh. Okay! I can take you to see my sensei once we're done here.” Miguel walked into the fiction section, and started shelving there. “You know Aisha joined too, right?”</p><p>Evelyn followed him excitedly. “She did? I love Aisha. She's the best.”</p><p>“Yeah.” He smiled, glancing over at Evelyn. “She is.”</p><p>“So? Tell me more about this sensei of yours. The only time I've ever seen him is the night of the Halloween dance.” Evelyn said.</p><p>Miguel lit up at the mention of his mentor. “Sensei Lawrence is the best. I feel more confident than I've ever felt in my entire life, Ev. I feel like I can be more than just the loser new kid.”</p><p>“I'm so happy for you, Miguel. I feel like he's done you a lot of good. Hopefully he can do a lot of good for me, too. Make me less of a loser.” She was only mostly joking.</p><p>“I never thought that you were a loser." He looked at her, his eyes showing all of the sincerity that he was feeling.</p><p>She blushed, then poked his cheek. “You're too nice to me, Miguel. My ego's gonna get all overinflated.”</p><p>“Even more than it is already?” He feigned shock.</p><p>“Ha ha. You think you're so funny.” She picked up a stack of books that was way too large for her to carry, but Evelyn is extremely stubborn. As she walked, she tripped on her shoelace, sending the books flying. Her knee twisted as she fell, causing her to cry out in pain.</p><p>“Be careful, Evelyn!” Mrs. Hutchinson exclaimed.</p><p>“Sorry, Mrs. Hutchinson.” Evelyn grimaced, and then started picking up the books. Her knee was really hurting, but it would be fine. She had almost-constant knee injuries from ballet. Compared to those, this was nothing.</p><p>"You okay, Ev?" Miguel raced over to her, and helped her pick up the rest of the books.</p><p>She nodded. “Yeah. I'm fine.”</p><p>He offered his hand, and helped her off of the ground. She was almost standing when she yanked at his arm playfully, sending both of them flying back to the ground. Evelyn was practically in tears at the look on Miguel's face.</p><p>“Oh, look who thinks they're funny now!” He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.</p><p>“Alright, that’s it. Both of you out!” Mrs. Hutchinson bustled over to the duo, and escorted them out.</p><p>“Sorry, Mrs. Hutchinson,” they chorused.</p><p>Mrs. Hutchinson shook her head, and walked back into the library.</p><p>“So? Are you going to take me to see your sensei or not?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“Okay! Let's go.” He ran his fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to fix it, and started walking.</p><p>Five stops on the city bus later, and Evelyn and Miguel were standing in front of a karate dojo. <em> Their </em>karate dojo.</p><p>Miguel strode inside, and took off his shoes. “Hey, Sensei!”</p><p>The same man that Evelyn met at the Halloween dance stumbled out of the back room. “Hey, Diaz. Who’s your friend?”</p><p>“We've met. Evelyn di Angelo.” She took off her shoes too, then walked up to him and offered her hand for him to shake.</p><p>He shook it gently, as if he was afraid to break it. “Right. Evelyn.”</p><p>“That's me!” She smiled, waving awkwardly.</p><p>“Sensei, Ev wants to join Cobra Kai.” Miguel chimed in.</p><p>“You do? Why?” He quickly put on a ‘tough guy’ affect, and started circling Evelyn.</p><p>"Well, you know Kyler. He's a real asshole, and he’s started making a lot of super sexist comments to me. He's called me both a bitch and a slut in like... the last week.”</p><p>“Wait a second.” Sensei Lawrence froze. “That's messed up. You gotta treat babes right!”</p><p>“Don't particularly appreciate being referred to as a babe, but yeah.” She shrugged. “You gotta treat babes right.”</p><p>“Welcome to Cobra Kai, Miss di Angelo.”</p><p>She beamed. “Thanks!”</p><p>“Thanks…” He waved his hand, making it clear that she was missing something.</p><p>“Thanks, <em> Sensei </em>,” she corrected herself.</p><p>“Alright, Mr. Diaz. Ready to show our new student what Cobra Kai's made of?” Sensei Lawrence asked.</p><p>“Yes, Sensei!” Miguel chanted, stepping up to where Evelyn was.</p><p>“Try not to mess me up too badly, Miguel.” She grinned, but she was actually a little worried.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Ev. I got you.”</p><p>"Face each other!" Sensei Lawrence shouted.</p><p>Evelyn turned anxiously to face her friend.</p><p>“Bow!”</p><p>She bowed deeply, still making tense eye contact with Miguel.</p><p>“Ready?”</p><p>Evelyn took a deep breath and raised her fists, trying to match what he was doing.</p><p>“Fight!” Sensei Lawrence yelled.</p><p>Miguel lunged forward, and tried to kick Evelyn in the stomach. She quickly threw up her right hand, and managed to block his kick. She stood there, completely stunned that she actually blocked him. However, her shock meant that she did not anticipate the second kick. Miguel's foot connected directly with her chest, sending her flying.</p><p>“OH MY GOD, MIGUEL. YOU KICKED ME IN THE BOOB!” She yelled, clutching at her aching chest.</p><p>His jaw dropped, and he ran over to where she was laying. “Oh my god, Ev. I'm <em> so </em>sorry. Are you okay?”</p><p>“I think I'll survive.” Evelyn winced.</p><p>“Great job, Diaz.” Sensei Lawrence laughed, and walked back to his office.</p><p>“Is that what he teaches you here? Because if so... I don't know if I can get behind that,” she teased.</p><p>“I’m so, <em> so </em> sorry. That was a total accident. Are you okay?” Miguel asked, looking extremely concerned.</p><p>“Quit your worrying, Diaz. I'll be fine." She sat up, pain still radiating through her body. "You definitely owe me ice cream, though."</p><p>“That’s fair.” He smiled, and offered his hand to Evelyn.</p><p>Evelyn winced as she reached up to take it. “Double scoop. With a waffle cone.”</p><p>“Who do you think I am?” He smirked. “A billionaire?”</p><p>“Very funny.” She grabbed onto his hand, and started to stand up.</p><p>The second that she was back up on her feet, she quickly dropped into a squat and swept his leg out from under him. Unfortunately for Evelyn, his grip on her hand never faltered. As he fell, her knees buckled, and her back connected sharply with the floor. Evelyn quickly regained her bearings, and scrambled onto Miguel's torso, making sure to keep his arms pinned beneath her knees. She was about to dramatically proclaim her victory when she heard a voice come from the door.</p><p>“Um, am I interrupting something?”</p><p>Evelyn whipped her head around, and noticed Aisha standing there, a look of shock on her face.</p><p>“Yeah, Aisha. I was just about to start taking his clothes off. Can you give us a few minutes?” Evelyn asked sarcastically.</p><p>Miguel’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?” </p><p>“Clearly I'm joking.” Evelyn stood up. “Come on. Pull yourself together.” She grabbed his hand, and helped him up too.</p><p> Aisha still looked confused. “So you don't need me to leave?”</p><p>“Nope. Miguel and I were just sparring, and I was on my way out when you showed up.” Evelyn slipped her shoes on, and walked out of the dojo. “Ice cream, Diaz. Don't forget!”</p><p>Evelyn pulled out her phone, and was about to text Demetri when she saw a million Instagram notifications. She opened the app, and her heart almost stopped as she saw Yasmine’s new post. It was a picture of a girl with a bunch of sausages in her mouth, captioned ‘Sam.’</p><p>Before Evelyn even knew what she was doing, she was dialing Sam’s number. The phone rang three times, and then Sam picked up.</p><p>“Ev?” Sam sounded extremely concerned. Evelyn had stopped calling about two months ago, around the time that Sam stopped picking up.</p><p>“Hi, Sam.” A lump caught in Evelyn's throat at the sound of her old best friend's voice. “Are you free? I… I miss you.”</p><p>“I miss you too. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.” Evelyn gave Sam the address, and ten minutes later Sam pulled up in her new car. Her smile was just as radiant as ever. “Hey!”</p><p>“Hey.” Evelyn got in the passenger's seat, and buckled her seatbelt. “Where do you want to go?”</p><p>“How about my house? My parents would love to see you.”</p><p>“Aww, I miss your family!” Evelyn grinned at the thought of seeing Amanda and Mr. L again. It had been <em> way </em>too long.</p><p>“Sounds great!” Sam backed out of the parking spot, and started driving the familiar route back to her house. “So, when did you join Cobra Kai?”</p><p>Evelyn's face fell. She'd completely forgotten about Mr. L's feud with Cobra Kai and her new sensei. “Just today, actually.”</p><p>“How is it?” Sam sounded… genuine. Evelyn didn't expect Sam to actually be okay with her joining Cobra Kai.</p><p>“It’s pretty good! I've definitely still got a lot to learn,” Evelyn admitted.</p><p>“My dad has been BEGGING me to do karate with him lately. It's like he hasn't realized that I'm not an 8 year old anymore.” Sam shook her head, her eyes cold.</p><p>"That was a long time ago." Evelyn laughed, the awkwardness almost suffocating.</p><p>“Yeah. It was.” Evelyn and Sam sat in silence for the rest of the drive, both thinking the same thing. <em> What happened to us? </em>“We’re here.”</p><p>Evelyn looked up, and saw the place that she'd spent more time at than anywhere else, except maybe her own house. She got out of the car, and followed Sam inside apprehensively. It had been a long three months since Sam ditched her for Yasmine and Moon.</p><p>“Evelyn?” Amanda came around the corner, looking bewildered.</p><p>“Hi, Amanda.” Evelyn said, a smile threatening to creep up on her face.</p><p>"Oh, my goodness! I'm so excited that you're finally back!” Amanda strode up to Evelyn, and hugged her.</p><p>“It’s good to be back.” Evelyn smiled.</p><p>Amanda side-eyed her daughter. “I like you way more than that Yasmine girl anyways.”</p><p>“Mom-” Sam started, but Amanda cut her off with another look.</p><p>“Daniel! Come out here! Evelyn’s back!” Amanda called.</p><p>“I’m coming, Amanda.” Daniel sounded exasperated, but that expression quickly changed when he caught sight of Evelyn. “Evelyn! We missed you around here.”</p><p>“Thanks, Mr. L. I missed you all too.”</p><p>"Mom? Dad? Is it okay if Evelyn and I go hang out in my room?” Sam asked.</p><p>“Of course,” he replied. "Are you staying for dinner, Evelyn?”</p><p>“I’ll have to check with Mom, but I'd love to.” Evelyn grinned. She didn't realize how much she missed Sam's family until just then.</p><p>“Come on!” Sam led her back to her room. She threw herself down on her bed, and picked up her phone. Her face fell, presumably as she saw another Instagram post like the one that sparked this reunion.</p><p>“So, Sam. Are you gonna tell me what those Instagram posts are about?” Evelyn asked gently.</p><p>Sam sighed. “You saw.”</p><p>“Yeah. I did. I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious. Is everything okay?”</p><p>“No. Kyler and I went to the movies the other day, and he spread this rumor that I... you know... did stuff with him in the movie theatre.” Sam's voice was quiet, which broke Evelyn's heart. Sam was usually so outspoken. It was clear how much this situation with Kyler was hurting her.</p><p>Evelyn scoffed. “Hence the sausage in the mouth posts. Disgusting.”</p><p>“I didn't, you know,” Sam said.</p><p>“I never doubted it for a second.” Evelyn shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter even if you did, though. What you do with Kyler is you and Kyler’s business, not anybody else. You don't need to explain yourself to me.”</p><p>“You're really the best, you know?” A smile broke across Sam's face.</p><p>“Glad you finally realized.” Evelyn joked, moving to sit right next to Sam. “So, Kyler, huh?</p><p>“Not anymore.” Sam’s face fell.</p><p>“I'm sorry, Sam. I could tell that you liked him.” Evelyn said, rubbing her friend's arm.</p><p>Sam's eyes burned. “I stopped liking him when I heard what he said to you in the library.”</p><p>“Ugh, that jerk.” Evelyn winced. That day in the library was still a very touchy subject.</p><p>“That jerk is right!” Sam exclaimed.</p><p>Evelyn turned to Sam, the sincerity in her eyes evident. “I really, <em> really </em>missed you, Sam. It’s been too long.”</p><p>“I know, Evelyn. I missed you too, and I'm so sorry. I shouldn’t’ve ditched you and Aisha for Yasmine and Moon. That was really shitty of me.”</p><p>“It was. But it’s all water under the bridge now. I’m just glad to have you back.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Evelyn and Miguel spent the entirety of English passing notes to each other. Even though they could've easily just texted, they both found the nature of passing notes (especially since they sat right next to each other) hilarious.</p><p>
  <em> E- Sam and I are finally friends again! </em>
</p><p>
  <em> M- That’s so good! I'm happy for you, Ev </em>
</p><p>
  <em> E- Yeah. I missed her a lot. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> M- I know you did </em>
</p><p>
  <em> E- Ugh, I can’t wait for this stupid class to be over </em>
</p><p>
  <em> M- Neither can I </em>
</p><p>
  <em> E- You wanna work on homework tonight? Mom's working so it's just me and Dem </em>
</p><p>
  <em> M-Sounds good! I'll just bus back with you? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> E- Yup </em>
</p><p>The bell's harsh tone rang through the halls.</p><p>Miguel stood up. “Alright, Ev. You ready to go?”</p><p>"Yeah." She slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out of the classroom. “Are you gonna sit with Demetri and Eli today, or are you with me?”</p><p>"I don't know. I was with you yesterday, so maybe I'll sit with them today?”</p><p>Evelyn nodded. “Alright. I’ve gotta tell Aisha about the whole thing with Sam, anyways.”</p><p>“Sounds good.”</p><p>“Is there practice for karate every day? Or are there certain times…?”</p><p>“I'm usually there every day, but we don't have a super strict schedule. Since it's just the three of us, I'm sure Sensei will be okay if you have dance.”</p><p>“That's at 8 during the week, so I can come to the dojo for a bit beforehand.”</p><p>“Awesome! I'll see you there.” Miguel pushed open the door to the cafeteria, and immediately was taken back at the scene happening before him.</p><p>Sam was standing in front of Kyler, and she looked <em> pissed </em>. Evelyn was immediately on red alert, ready to jump in to help her friend.</p><p>Kyler called out to the cafeteria, “Hey, guys. You know that billboard with the big-ass dick on it? I guess Sam takes after her dad.”</p><p>“I know he did not just say that.” Evelyn dropped her lunch tray on the nearest table, and started to storm up to Kyler.</p><p>Miguel put a gentle hand on her arm, stopping her from going any further. “Let me handle this.”</p><p>Evelyn was a little surprised at his attitude, but she stood down. “You better not mess this one up."</p><p>“Hey, Kyler!" Miguel called. “Why don't you shut the hell up and stop acting like such an asshole?”</p><p>Pride swelled in Evelyn's chest. “Go, Miguel!”</p><p>“Want another beatdown, 'Rhea?" Kyler shoved Miguel. “I'm ready for your lame-ass karate this time.” He shoved Miguel again, even harsher this time.</p><p>Aisha stood up, ready to help Miguel if needed. Evelyn strode up to Aisha, and nodded at Sam encouragingly.</p><p>“It’s not lame-ass karate.” Miguel grimaced at the insult. Kyler tried to hit Miguel, which Miguel somehow caught, twisting Kyler's arm behind his back. “It's Cobra Kai.”</p><p><em> Damn. That's hot. </em>Evelyn quickly snapped out of her haze as Miguel and Kyler began to fight. Miguel punched Kyler in the face, causing Kyler to stumble back into a table. Kyler wiped his nose, and then looked at his bloodied hand, contemplating his next move. He shook his head, and then tackled Miguel into another table.</p><p>People quickly pulled out their phones and began recording the fight. Unfortunately for Miguel, this fight was not looking good for him. Kyler had Miguel in a chokehold, and Miguel was desperately clawing at Kyler's arms. Miguel managed to push himself off of the table, where Kyler's stomach was completely exposed. As Kyler pushed Miguel's head to the right, Miguel jabbed his elbow into Kyler's stomach and twisted his arm, forcing Kyler to release him.</p><p>While Miguel had Kyler's arm in a hold, he hit Kyler in the face again and kicked him in the back, sending Kyler flying into a table.</p><p>“NO MERCY!” Aisha shouted from across the room.</p><p>“YES! Go, Miguel!” Evelyn cheered him on.</p><p>Aisha and Evelyn's yells seemed to have stirred something in Miguel. As Brucks rushed towards him, fists swinging, Miguel dropped to the floor and swept Brucks' leg, leaving him flat on his back. Another one of Kyler's cronies tried to grab Miguel's back, but Miguel elbowed him in the groin, and then kicked him in the face.</p><p>Evelyn winced. <em> Ouch. That must've hurt </em>.</p><p>Miguel was practically flying at this point, taking down guy after guy effortlessly.</p><p>Brucks stirred from his position on the ground, clearly upset. “GET HIM!”</p><p>Miguel rolled across yet another table, grabbing a cafeteria tray as he moved. As the guys ran towards him, he kicked a chair, taking out one of them. The cafeteria tray turned into a really useful tool, sending three guys to the floor. Kyler just wouldn't stay down, though. He stood up once again, causing Miguel to use Brucks as a step stool and end up on the table. Miguel kicked Kyler in the face, and quickly whipped around to hit him with the tray one last time.</p><p>Miguel knelt there on the table, chest heaving. Had he really just done that?</p><p>The crowd exploded in cheers as they watched the four bullies laying on the floor, but Evelyn was cheering the loudest. "That's my friend!" She was telling that to anybody who would listen. She turned to the person next to her, and quickly noticed that it was Sam. Sam's eyes were shining, and she was staring at Miguel as if he was the person who hung the moon. Evelyn knew exactly what that look meant.</p><p>Miguel was still stunned, but the cheers of the rest of the student body caused him to stand up. His eyes quickly focused on Sam, who was now smiling. Evelyn's cheeks twitched, and she had to force herself not to burst out into laughter. She started placing bets with herself, giving it two months before they were together.</p><p>The counselor strode through the building crowd, and started yelling. “Hey! Get down from there right now.” The rest of the students continued to cheer as Miguel was led off, Sam still standing there watching him.</p><p>Evelyn decided to say something. “So, Miguel, huh?”</p><p>“What?” Sam startled at her words. “I-”</p><p>“I know that look, LaRusso. You can't lie to me.”</p><p>Sam’s expression was still dreamy. “You two are friends?”</p><p>“Yeah. We are.” Evelyn nodded proudly. “Sit down. I’ll tell you all about him.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone 5/5/2021. nothing changed except for wording</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's a full dojo! And, when Ev and Miguel go get ice cream, they see someone familiar ;)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Evelyn arrived at the dojo later that day, she was completely surprised by the vast amount of people that were standing in front of it.</p><p>“Hey! New kids.” She walked up to a group of freshmen, and noticed that there was a video playing on one of their phones. “What’s with the video?”</p><p>“Look!” The freshman showed it to her proudly. It was a video of Miguel fighting Kyler in the cafeteria.</p><p>“Oh! You came here because of Miguel?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“Yeah! Do you know him?”</p><p>A chorus erupted behind her. She heard one person distinctly whisper “That’s him. That’s the guy from the video!” </p><p>Evelyn turned around, and saw Miguel trying to wade through the crowd. “Hey, Diaz!”</p><p>“Hey!” He walked up to her, beaming. “Look at all of these people!”</p><p>“It’s all because of you! Look at them all watching a video of you and Kyler,” she pointed out. “I’m proud of you, Miguel.”</p><p>“Thanks, Ev. Shall we?” He held open the door for her, and the pair walked inside.</p><p>“Hey, Sensei!” Evelyn called.</p><p>“Diaz. di Angelo.” Johnny nodded at each of them, and then disappeared back into his office. Neither Evelyn nor Miguel could hear him say “Hmm. di Angelo. Diaz. Diazgelo,” and then nod proudly. (Thanks, Johnny.)</p><p>“I’m gonna go change.” Evelyn started, but then she noticed her brother and Eli standing amongst the crowd. She couldn’t believe that Demetri actually decided to join. He’d whined nonstop since she joined about how she was just ‘putting herself through extra gym class’ and how ‘she already did dance, why would she want another physical activity.’ She’d managed to tune out his comments, though. That’s what came from a lifetime of listening to him whine about her various interests. She waved at Eli, and then actually went to go change.</p><p>She was stretching next to Miguel and Aisha, who were sparring, when Sensei Lawrence emerged from his office a second time. As Evelyn watched him watch his crowd of new students, she started to get a little worried. As much as he should be happy about the newly full dojo, that was not his happy face. That was his ‘I’m pretending to be extra tough but I’m actually nervous’ face.</p><p>“I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.” Demetri’s voice cut through the crowd. </p><p>Evelyn rolled his eyes. Sensei Lawrence hadn’t even started speaking yet, but of course her brother was already complaining.</p><p>“Okay. Today we begin…” Sensei Lawrence tried to talk, but nobody was listening to him. Except Evelyn.</p><p>She jolted up to standing at the sound of his voice, and started mentally preparing herself for training. She was part of the original trio with Miguel and Aisha. It was time that they showed these new kids how it was done.</p><p>“QUIET!” Johnny shouted. “Face front.”</p><p>The class began begrudgingly following his advice, but it was clear that her sensei didn’t have the control of the room that he wanted. <em> This wasn’t going to end well. </em>He started walking around the room, and insulting each person that he saw.</p><p>She started to say something, but she figured that it was best if she didn’t interfere with his process. They had to stay united.</p><p>“When I look around this dojo, I don’t see Cobra Kai material,” he announced. “I see losers, I see nerds.” Evelyn chuckled to herself, knowing that her sensei was definitely talking about Demetri. “I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out.” Johnny said, causing Evelyn to wince. He was being extra mean today. </p><p>“But, in my short time as a sensei, I’ve also seen some miracles.” He smiled at Miguel, Aisha, and Evelyn. “So, maybe there’s some hope for you yet. But, first I need to see where you’re at. Fall in!” </p><p>None of the new kids knew what that meant.</p><p>“That means line up.” Sensei explained.</p><p>They started to form a single file line behind Miguel, Evelyn, and Aisha. Well, it was more like a clump. Line-ish. Definitely not what Sensei wanted. </p><p>“No, not line up in a line. Lines!” </p><p>“You mean like… rows?” Demetri asked.</p><p>Sensei buried his head in his hands.</p><p>“Yes, like rows, Demetri.” Evelyn rolled her eyes.</p><p>Everyone fell into rows, and started training. Things were going surprisingly well until Sensei’s eyes focused on Eli. “Hey, Lip.”</p><p>“Sensei-” Evelyn started, but he cut her off with a look.</p><p>“Yeah, you. The one with the freaky lip. Who do you think that I’m talking to?”</p><p>Demetri started talking, which was never a good sign. “Excuse me, uh, Mr. Lawrence.”</p><p>“<em> Sensei </em>Lawrence.” Aisha corrected him.</p><p>“Okay.” Demetri laughed. “You really shouldn’t make fun of someone’s physical appearance.”</p><p>“Oh, is that so? So I’m not supposed to mention his lip at all?” Sensei asked.</p><p>“Well, yeah.” Demetri said.</p><p>This just cemented his fate. Sensei didn’t like being talked back to, and he clearly liked it even less when it came from somebody with the pi symbol on their shirt. “Maybe that’s what they teach you in school, but in the real world, you can’t expect people to do exactly what they’re supposed to.” Sensei explained. “You hear that, Lip? If you can’t handle someone making fun of you, how are you going to handle an elbow to the teeth?”</p><p>“By calling the police.” Demetri looked at Sensei Lawrence like he was crazy.</p><p>“Dude. Knock it off.” Miguel said.</p><p>“What?” Demetri turned on Miguel. “He does realize that the Nazis lost the war, right?”</p><p>“<em> Demetri. </em>” Evelyn glared at him. </p><p>“Why should I be scared of him? Because he’s got a snake on his wall? It’s not like he’s a teacher who can give us a bad grade. We’re <em> paying </em>him. He works for us. It’s not like he can actually hurt us.” </p><p>“Oh, you shouldn’t’ve said that.” Evelyn whispered. But, it was too late.</p><p>Sensei’s eyes were trained straight on Demetri, and he strode over.</p><p>“Oh, shit.” Miguel affirmed.</p><p>The crowd parted, making way for Sensei to get to Demetri.</p><p>“Are you done?” Sensei asked.</p><p>“What?” Demetri hadn’t quite realized what he’d done.</p><p>“Hit me.” Sensei said. When Demetri hesitated, he repeated himself. “Go ahead. Strike me right here.”</p><p>Air hissed through Evelyn’s teeth. This was definitely bad.</p><p>Demetri tried to hit Sensei, but he easily blocked it. “Harder.” He tried again, but Sensei blocked him. “Is that all you’ve got, princess?” Demetri tried one last time, but Sensei blocked him again and judo-flipped him. </p><p>“Let that be a lesson to all of you.” Sensei announced proudly.</p><p>“Demetri!” Evelyn exclaimed as she watched Demetri hit the ground. “Um, Sensei?”</p><p>“Yes, di Angelo?” He turned to face her.</p><p>“Could you please not judo-flip my baby brother?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“Evelyn, I am begging you to stop calling me your baby brother. It was only seventeen minutes.” Demetri chimed in.</p><p>“Wait a second.” Sensei looked confused. “The nerd’s your brother, di Angelo?”</p><p>She rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately.” </p><p>“Wait a second.” He looked even more confused with each realization. “How are you only seventeen minutes older than him? Do you have different mothers or something?”</p><p>“Sensei, we’re twins,” she explained.</p><p>“But you’re a girl…” Sensei shook his head. “Whatever. I guess we know who got the badass genes, though. Your sister’s a natural Cobra, nerd.”</p><p>Evelyn beamed at the praise. “Thanks, Sensei.”</p><p>The rest of training passed mostly uneventfully, but Demetri swore to Evelyn that he was never coming back to that place. She didn’t really care that he quit, though. Cobra Kai was her space. He could like it or he could not like it.</p><p>As Miguel was packing up his stuff, he approached Evelyn. “So, Ev. How about that ice cream?”</p><p>“Sounds great!” Evelyn was laughing at Miguel when she entered the ice cream shop, but her laughter stopped abruptly when she noticed who was standing behind the counter.</p><p>Robby. His smile shone just as brightly as Evelyn remembered, but unfortunately it wasn’t directed towards her this time. His arm muscles flexed as he scooped, causing Evelyn’s heart to pound. If only he would hold her with those beautiful-</p><p>“Earth to Evelyn!” Miguel waved his hand in front of her face.</p><p>“Hi-yes. I’m here.” She looked back at Robby. “Oh, my Lord.” She said, her words coming out as a sigh.</p><p>Miguel looked confused. “What’s going on?”</p><p>She took a deep breath, and finally tore her eyes away from Robby. “Nothing. Just… act normal. Let me handle this.”</p><p>“Okay.” Miguel shrugged. He trusted Evelyn’s judgement. She would tell him what was going on when it was time for him to know.</p><p>Evelyn quickly fixed her hair, and stepped up to the counter. As much as she wanted to leave the store and run back home, that’s not what a natural Cobra would do. She had to strike first.</p><p>“Hi!” Robby greeted her warmly.</p><p>She sized up his expression, and deduced that he hadn’t recognized her. “Hey. Can I please get a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, and whatever my friend here wants?” </p><p>“Can I get a scoop of strawberry, please?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Strawberry?” Evelyn snorted. “Basic.”</p><p>“Don’t feel bad.” Robby smiled at Miguel, but there was a hint of malice behind his eyes. Evelyn immediately recoiled in confusion. How did Robby know Miguel? “That’s my favorite, too.”</p><p><em> Of course she had to insult his favorite flavor. </em> Evelyn sighed, and realized that it was time for her to say something. It was now or never. She put on an air of complete innocence, as if she was genuinely confused. “Wait a second. You look really familiar.” She wrinkled her nose. “But… I thought your name was Eduardo.”</p><p>Robby almost dropped Miguel’s ice cream. “How do you…” He looked back at her, and something clicked. “Evelyn?”</p><p>“That’s me.” She winked.</p><p>Something clicked in Miguel’s head, too. “Wait a second. Is this R-”</p><p>“Stop it, Miguel.” She hissed through gritted teeth.</p><p>Robby still looked stunned to see her. “Can we talk later, Evelyn?”</p><p>“Of course.” She replied.</p><p>Evelyn and Miguel took their ice cream from Robby, paid, and then went and sat at the furthest table away from him. Miguel made a move to point at Robby, but Evelyn quickly stopped him. “We’re acting normal, remember?”</p><p>“Fine.” He took a big bite of his ice cream. “So? That’s Robby?” She nodded. “He looks like one of the guys in the shows that my yaya watches.” </p><p>“Is that a good thing?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“Eh.” He shrugged. “He kind of looks like an asshole, but it’s clear that you like him.”</p><p>“Is it that clear?” Evelyn wasn’t known for her subtlety, but she’d tried extra hard with Robby.</p><p>“Not to just anybody, but I know you,” he said.</p><p>“Yeah. You do.” Evelyn was too busy talking to Miguel and enjoying her ice cream to notice what was happening until she felt something light drop into her lap. A napkin. She picked it up, and noticed writing on it. </p><p>Robby’s handwriting was messy, but to Evelyn it was absolutely perfect. His letters were blocky, but they had slight curls on the ends, especially on the Ys and the Ls. <em> “I told you we’d see each other around sometime.” </em></p><p>Next to the note was his phone number.</p><p>Robby looked across the room, and saw Evelyn smile at the napkin. She showed it to that guy she was with – Miguel – and his brow furrowed. <em> Were they together? </em> They sure looked like they were together.</p><p>Robby didn’t really care, though. He didn’t like that guy. Evelyn, though?</p><p>That was a different story.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone: 5/5/2021. nothing super changed except for some wording. <br/>johnny being the captain of diazgelo is honestly a big mood. because while i am the captain of evbby (i wrote this whole thing for them, after all) i do like the chemistry between miss ev and miggy</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sensei Lawrence finds out who Evelyn's been talking to.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Evelyn jerked out of her nap as she felt her phone buzz, lying next to her face on the couch. She’d stayed up all night on the phone the night before talking to Robby, so she was completely exhausted. She didn’t care, though. It was worth every single minute of missed sleep to get to talk to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifted her phone up to her face, wincing as the bright light hit her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>5 missed calls from Miguel Diaz.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Crap.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was supposed to meet him for training twenty minutes ago. Evelyn frantically threw her karate gear into her bag, and ran out the door. Her foot tapped even more frantically with each bus stop, but finally she was there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rushed over to him, still frantic about her lateness. “I’m so sorry. I told myself that I was just going to take a short nap, which turned into-” She checked the time, and grimaced. “Five hours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it. You ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Evelyn held the door open for him, and then walked into the dojo. “Hi, Sensei!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Diazgelo.” He nodded at both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were about to walk past him, but his term made Evelyn stop in her tracks. “Um, Sensei? What did you just call us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your names are too similar,” he said offhandedly. “It’s easier to just combine them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn swallowed her laugh, but she couldn’t hide the blush that was creeping onto her face. “Sensei, you do realize that you just created… a ship name for Miguel and I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is a ship?” Johnny asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now Miguel was the one who was laughing. “A ship name is what you give two people when you like them together. Like dating. Which Ev and I are not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>ship </span>
  </em>
  <span>you, then.” Johnny proclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn smiled weakly at him. “Well, uh. Thanks, Sensei.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome.” He nodded again, and then walked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my God.” Evelyn’s face was still bright red. Hearing someone who they both considered a mentor say that he liked them together was definitely not what she expected to happen when she came to Cobra Kai that day. “Um. I’m gonna go change now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good.” Thankfully things were less awkward after they changed, and started stretching together. “So, Ev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked up from the floor. “Yeah? What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve known you for about seven months, and you’ve literally never mentioned napping before today. What gives?” Miguel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn blushed profusely. “I was actually up late talking to Robby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Miguel’s eyes widened. “So, you’re-?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Friends. We’re just getting to know each other,” she explained, but she was fooling absolutely nobody. Especially not Miguel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Next Sensei is gonna be shipping you and Robby,” he teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Miguel</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She glared at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine! You’re just friends!” He threw up his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are!” Evelyn protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What’s with the yelling?" Sensei Lawrence had heard their conversation, and came out to investigate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev was just telling me about how she stayed up all night talking to her boyfriend on the phone.” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He’s not my boyfriend!” Evelyn exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel rolled his eyes. “Sensei, she has not shut up about this guy since he gave her his number last month.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he hot?” Sensei asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. I don’t know if I feel comfortable having this conversation with you.” Evelyn said. He’d already made one too many comments on her love life for that day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Answer the question, di Angelo. Is he hot?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah.” She smiled shyly. “He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hot. He’s also funny, smart, kind-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cut her off. None of that other stuff mattered anyways. “What’s his name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His name’s Robby,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny looked confused. “Robby…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby Keene. Why? Do you know him or something?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sensei’s face fell at the name, but he recovered quickly enough that Evelyn didn’t notice. “Do I look like the kind of guy that knows teen boys?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… yes?” She gestured towards Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s true.” He shrugged. “Well, good luck with… good luck with him, di Angelo.” He stumbled back into his office, trying to recover from the shock. Out of all of the boys in the universe, Evelyn managed to fall for his son. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn and Miguel started warming up the rest of Cobra Kai, oblivious to the emotional turmoil that their sensei was feeling. He’d spent sixteen years messing stuff up with Robby, and Evelyn was a good kid. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that they found each other. But if he had to hear Evelyn call his son ‘really hot’ again, he was going to need a drink. Or two. Or five.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny came out of his office towards the end of their training session, and just stood in the doorway staring at Evelyn. It was seriously messed up that she knew Robby better than he did. He figured that it was time that he did something. Time that he struck first. “Hey, di Angelo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Sensei?” Evelyn looked up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I see you in my office?” Her sensei asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course!” She said goodbye to Miguel, and walked over to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gestured for her to sit down. “So. You and this… this Robby guy, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. “Sensei, are you seriously giving me the boy talk right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That is not what he was doing, but he figured that it was a solid cover. “Yeah. I'm giving you the boy talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I have a mother, right?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waved his hand. “I’m your sensei. I'm supposed to be here for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” She nodded at him. “Go ahead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, tell me about him,” he said, just a little too eagerly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want to know?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Evelyn was actually excited to tell Sensei Lawrence about Robby. Miguel was beyond sick of hearing about him, and she wasn't quite ready to say anything to her mom. “We actually met back in October, but we didn't see each other again until last month.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked confused. “You met twice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I'm still not quite sure what was going on the first time. Thanks for reminding me to ask him about that.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And, when we met again last month, he gave me his phone number. We’ve been talking at least once a day ever since.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what's Robby like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He's incredible, Sensei. He's super funny, and he's really smart. He doesn't get enough credit for how smart he is. And he's </span>
  <em>
    <span>super </span>
  </em>
  <span>loyal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just like you,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” She smiled. “Like me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He sounds like a good kid." In that moment, Johnny wished more than anything that he could get to know Robby. Even if he couldn't be there for him, at least Evelyn was. “I'm happy that you found this guy, di Angelo. I know I don't need to be worried about you taking care of yourself, but I don't think you'll need to with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Thanks for listening, Sensei. It's nice to talk to someone other than Miguel about this.” She started packing up her stuff, and getting ready to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I'm sure Diaz loves hearing about you and another guy.” Johnny laughed. “Like I said, you two are cute. I ship it.” The way that he was proclaiming that he shipped them was the way of a man who was extremely proud of himself for learning a new word, and was going to use it every other sentence until the novelty wore off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sensei.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She glared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine!” Johnny exclaimed. Evelyn could be really intense when she wanted to be, and nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of one of her glares.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Good. Thanks again, Sensei. See you later.” She waved at her sensei, and then took the bus home. Thankfully her birthday was tomorrow, and she would finally be able to get her driver's license. Evelyn got her permit the day that she turned 15, so she had plenty of time to learn how to drive before she had to take the test.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>What’s going on?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just got out of training</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>What about you?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just got off of work. How was training?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ugh.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Sensei kept talking about how he shipped Miguel and I which was horrifying</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>I should not have taught him that word</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why’d you teach it to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He literally gave us a freaking ship name and then we had to explain what it was</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Which is very interesting because Miguel and I are like. The opposite of dating</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait seriously?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes???</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Did you think that I was dating Miguel?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah. I did</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>You and him act a lot like a couple</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nah. Miguel’s like my guy best friend. That’s it</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby definitely didn’t smile at that affirmation.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Good to know</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He seemed kind of like a jerk anyways</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s not a jerk</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, fine.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>What’s your sensei like?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s really cool. He’s taught me a lot about karate, of course, but he’s also taught me how to be confident. How to be a badass! He really believes in me, which means a lot.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>I’m grateful to have him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby really regretted asking that. He thought that learning more about his dad through Evelyn might help him process the fact that they had a terrible relationship, but it just made him feel worse. So his dad could be there for Evelyn and Miguel, but not even show up once for him?</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s cool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How’s stuff going with Mr. L?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s going well. Having a job there is really nice</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Mr. LaRusso’s cousin Louie was picking on me a lot at first but thankfully he’s stopped for the most part</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>And he actually agreed to teach me karate</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Louie???</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. LaRusso.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Duh. Sorry</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>We should spar sometime</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>If you’re ready to get your ass kicked</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who says I’m getting my ass kicked?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’ve been in karate for five months.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>You’ve been in it for two minutes</span>
</p><p>
  <span>May the best person win</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a date then<br/>
</span>
  <span>Omg I didn’t mean it like that</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s fine. I know what you meant</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay good</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a knock on Evelyn’s front door, and she went to go answer it, phone still in hand. She was expecting it to be Demetri, but it was not Demetri. It was a completely breathless Miguel. “Hey. What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“IjustaskedSamonadate.” Miguel burst out, everything coming out of his mouth in one breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slow down.” Evelyn pulled him inside, and sat him down on her couch. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel took a deep breath. “I just asked Sam out. On a date.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OH!” Her eyes widened. “And? What’d she say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She said yes.” Miguel said, still having trouble believing it himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s jaw dropped, and she started smiling. “Holy shit, Diaz! I’m really happy for you. When is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonight.” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her brain short-circuited at Miguel’s nonchalantness. “Oh, my God. If I’m gonna fix you in time for this date, then you should’ve been here about three days ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened. “Fix me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, yeah.” Evelyn spent the next two hours grilling Miguel on his plan for the date while frantically messing with his hair and outfit. By the end of it though, she was pretty proud of how he turned out. “So?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for helping me, Ev. I look good,” he admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, you do!" Evelyn poked his arm. "I think you're ready."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you're right.” Miguel smiled at his reflection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Call me when it's over, okay?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.” He nodded, and then left to go back home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night, Evelyn sat on her bed and watched the clock change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>11:58.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>11:59.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a deep breath, and watched as the clock finally struck midnight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A voice came from behind her. “Happy birthday, Ev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn sighed, closing her eyes gently. “Happy birthday, Dem.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone: may 5, 2021. some stuff changed? not anything particularly important to the plot, but i did add in a little hint of diazgelo (because that's what i call them) before sam and miguel got together. also i reformatted the robby scene to be texting</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's Evelyn and Demetri's birthday. She finds out something new about a mentor, and then has a cute moment with Robby.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey, Miguel!” Evelyn said, walking back into English class. It had been eight months since the fateful incident on the first day, and class had thankfully fallen into a semi-normal routine. Mr. Greene still hated both Evelyn and Miguel, but they couldn’t care less. Even though he purposefully targeted both of them when it came to answering the more difficult questions about the readings, at least they had each other to lean on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev! Happy birthday.” Miguel smiled at her. “Did you hear about this new project?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Miguel. What new project?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam didn’t tell me everything. She just told me that there’s this new project being assigned today, and that she thinks you’re going to like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! That’s cool. I wonder what it’s about.” Evelyn saw Mr. Greene walk into the classroom, toting a stack of papers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, everyone.” He handed a stack of papers to the first person in each row, having them pass one back. “As I’m sure you’ve heard, we’re starting a new project today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn glanced down at the paper, entitled ‘Breaking through Barriers.’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Earlier this year, there were some complaints to the administration about my reading list.” Mr. Greene’s eyes darted to Evelyn and Miguel. “This is part of the new diversity initiative that I was given. Your project is to pick a person who’s broken through a barrier, interview them, and give a presentation on them. I’d suggest you get working, since it’s due next month.” With his final words, he walked off to his desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s actually a really cool project.” She turned to Miguel. “What are you thinking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure yet,” he said. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a few ideas, actually. Do you want to ask Mr. Greene if we can go down to the library and look?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds great.” He walked over to Mr. Greene’s desk, and after a few words, Mr. Greene nodded in assent. Miguel and Evelyn grabbed their backpacks, and then traipsed down to the familiar sight of their library. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn instantly flocked to the section containing old Valley newspapers. She knew that what she was looking for would be in there, since whenever it happened would be a big deal, and receive a lot of backlash. The first girl to compete in the All Valley. Evelyn knew that women in karate was nothing new, but she also knew that Aisha was the first girl to ever join Cobra Kai. She was the second. As she flipped through the newspapers, she heard a voice come from behind her. “What are you looking for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was actually thinking about doing my project on the first girl to compete in the All Valley. It’d be interesting, getting to learn more about girls in karate.” Evelyn replied,  smiling as she found the one she wanted. That girl looked awfully familiar, as she stood there holding her All Valley trophy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The newspaper was dated Sunday, May 17, 1987. The headline: “First Female All Valley Champion Quits Karate After Backlash from Community.” Evelyn scanned the article, a few quotes standing out to her as she read. “Rachel Baker, aged 17, joined karate as a way to defend herself from the bullies in her high school. She quickly rose to prominence in the karate community, as she was both the first female, and the first African-American, to join her dojo, Topanga Karate.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Evelyn blinked for a second, recognizing the name. Her eyes flicked down to the photo again, and the realization hit her. “There’s no way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no way what?” Miguel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Baker did karate?” Evelyn could hardly believe it, even as everything clicked into place. “She was an All Valley champion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Baker? Our principal Dr. Baker?” Miguel took the newspaper out of her hands, and started reading it. “That’s so awesome! You should totally do your project on her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn nodded vigorously. “Um, yeah. Definitely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t find anything nearly as cool as that.” Miguel complained, handing the newspaper back to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because nothing is as cool as finding out that your badass principal was also the first female All Valley champion.” Evelyn agreed. “I can’t wait to talk to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got your driver’s test today, right?” Miguel asked, walking through the aisles of the library in hopes of finding inspiration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. It’s right after school,” she said. “I’m pretty nervous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be. You’re a good driver.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Aw.” She smiled in his general direction. “Thanks, Miguel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you’re coming to the beach after, right?” Miguel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, rereading the newspaper article. “Yeah. I told Robby that I would drive him, so I sure hope that I pass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel poked his head around the corner of the row to make fun of her. “Oh, you told Robby that you’d drive him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very funny. He just needs a ride to the beach. No ulterior motives.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure he wants more than just a r-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared in his general direction, hidden in the stacks of books. “Don’t finish that sentence. God, dating Sam’s made you nasty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not dating Sam that’s made me nasty.” Miguel explained. “It’s being friends with Hawk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snorted quietly. “Yeah, right? What’s happened to him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two’ve known each other for a while, right?” Miguel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn nodded. “Yeah. Him and Dem have been best friends practically since we were babies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your favorite baby Eli and Demetri story?” He picked up a book, flipping through the pages.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a difficult one.” Evelyn thought for a second. “The year that they both wore Harry Potter robes instead of regular clothes for six months. Demetri cried bitter tears on our eleventh birthday when he didn’t get his Hogwarts letter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel burst out into laughter, coming around the corner. “Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you that in confidence, Diaz,” she said. “You better not make me regret it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He shrugged. “He’s told me some things about you, too. You actually let him off pretty easily.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn blanched. “What did he tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He told me about your mustache suspenders phase, and how you had an ‘Okay?’ ‘Okay’ phone case in middle school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She buried her head in her hands, ears turning red. “I’m gonna kill him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not done!” Miguel was very much enjoying tormenting Evelyn with his new knowledge of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A realization struck Evelyn. “Oh, God. He better not have told you about-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The One Direction fanfiction that you wrote?” Miguel suggested. “Is that what you’re worried about me knowing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Evelyn lied, hoping he wasn’t able to see her. Her face was an even brighter red than usual, heating up more and more as he kept talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He showed me your document, in the ‘Don’t Read’ folder on your computer. It’s not half bad, actually,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grimaced, and bit the inside of her lip. “I wrote that in sixth grade.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why did the document say that it was edited last week?” Miguel teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it. He’s dead.” Evelyn got up out of her chair, putting all of her stuff in her backpack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s not commit fratricide, please.” He followed after her, grabbing onto the back of her bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn turned to face him, starting to laugh. “Fratricide?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Killing your brother. I take Latin.” Miguel explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You take LATIN?” She exclaimed, earning a glare from Mrs. Hutchinson. “You’re full of surprises, Diaz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t let you get too comfortable, di Angelo.” Miguel elbowed her arm, and then started to lead her out of the library. “Come on. Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I PASSED!” Evelyn got out of her mom’s silver Honda Civic, and ran over to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You passed?” Marie asked. “Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn pouted at her. “Did you really just ask if I passed? Have ye no faith?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just… you’re not that great at parking. The last time that you drove us to the store, it was practically a 45 degree angle. I’m very happy for you, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m happy, too!” Evelyn said excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m glad you’re happy. I think you’re gonna be even more happy after I tell you what I’m about to.” Marie replied, rummaging in her pocket. “Here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn took the box out of her hand, and unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a key. “Mom, what is this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got a new car the other day, and I figured that you might like this one.” Marie gestured to the Honda. “Happy birthday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re giving me the car? Oh, my God!” Evelyn exclaimed, before starting to feel deeply anxious. “Are you sure? How’d you get a new car? They’re so expen-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn, please. If you must know, I just got a raise, and the LaRussos gave us a nice discount. It was manageable, and anyways, it’s your sixteenth birthday. You only get one of those.” Marie said, smiling at her now overjoyed daughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gosh, she’s perfect.” Evelyn traced her fingers along the side of her car. “I think I’m gonna name her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you going to name her?” Marie asked. She figured that it was better not to ask questions about why Evelyn referred to her car as a female.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Betty. She seems like a Betty.” Evelyn replied, before turning back to her mom. “She’s perfect, Mom. Thank you so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marie smiled at her, rubbing the side of her arm gently. “You’re welcome. Now, what are you going to do with her?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve gotta pick up Robby, and then meet Miguel and Demetri at the beach.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you driving Demetri?” Marie asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I think he said that Hawk is taking him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marie smiled teasingly. “Did you ask Hawk to take him? I can understand not wanting your brother to be the third wheel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you just say third wheel?” Evelyn made a face at her mom. “Anyways, it’s not like that with Robby. We’re just friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marie didn’t believe that for a second, but if Evelyn wasn’t ready to have that conversation, she wasn’t going to force her. “Whatever you say, baby. Have fun at your party!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Mom. See you later.” Evelyn got into her car, and started the familiar drive to Robby’s apartment. She’d been there a few times, but only to walk with him somewhere. He was always waiting outside when she got there, not wanting her to see inside. She knew he didn’t come from great circumstances, given the fact that he never talked about either of his parents, but she didn’t know the half of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she parked her car in front of Robby’s apartment complex, he was already standing outside per usual. A small smile spread across his face when he saw her, especially since she was by herself. Robby pointed to the car as he walked over, saying words that she couldn’t hear. His excited voice filled the van as he pulled open the door, slinging himself into the passenger’s seat. “You passed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did pass.” She glanced over at him, blushing slightly as she noticed his smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m proud of you, Evelyn,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, babe.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>BABE? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn screamed at herself, before noticing that the word just rolled off of him, leaving no effect behind. She tried to remind herself that she used names like that with her friends all the time, but it felt different with him. More natural. “So, you ready?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded, buckling himself in. “I’m ready. What is this thing we’re going to, anyways?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a few of us hanging out for Demetri and I’s birthday. Nothing special.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m finally going to get to meet the famous Demetri.” Robby teased as she drove away. “See if he lives up to everything you’ve told me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s mind flitted back to her conversation with Miguel that morning. “Actually, maybe I shouldn’t let you and Demetri talk. He seems to have a big mouth concerning things I don’t want my friends to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t’ve told me that.” Robby smiled at her. “Now I want to meet him even more. See what kind of secrets you’re hiding.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have.” Evelyn agreed. If Robby found out about the mustache suspenders, or God forbid, the One Direction fanfiction, she would probably have to leave the country. “So, what about your family? Any annoying twin brothers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope. Just me.” Robby said, his mood clearly shifting at the mention of family. Evelyn glanced over at him, his jaw set with emotions that he refused to show or process. She decided not to pry any further, so they spent the rest of the drive in an uncomfortable silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they got there, Hawk, Demetri, and Aisha were playing volleyball (well, Hawk and Aisha were playing volleyball. Demetri was doing something that vaguely resembled the robot), and Miguel and Sam were sitting on a bench and talking. Well… they started off talking. Now they were- Evelyn glanced back at them, before rolling her eyes. Now they were kissing. “So, these are my friends.” Evelyn said to Robby, as she got out of the car. “You’ve already met both Miguel and Sam. I’m not gonna bother reintroducing you since they’re… preoccupied.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Good idea.” Robby agreed, following her to where the group was playing volleyball.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn bounded up to Aisha, really excited to see her again. “Hey, Aisha!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ev! Happy birthday.” Aisha pulled her into a quick hug, before noticing Robby standing awkwardly behind Evelyn. “Is this Robby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. Robby, this is Aisha, Hawk, and my idiot brother.” She gestured to each of them in turn. Aisha and Hawk nodded at him, but Demetri was very offended by the ‘idiot’ comment, as he prided himself on his brains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev, it’s my birthday. You can’t call me an idiot on my birthday.” Demetri complained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s my birthday too, baby brother.” Evelyn teased him, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I hope you didn’t forget.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I should’ve been an only child.” Demetri muttered, walking away from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s Demetri?” Robby asked, watching him walk away. “Actually, it makes sense. You have the same eyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a good thing?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby glanced over at her, a half-smile on his lips. “Yeah. It’s a good thing.” She didn’t notice the smile. All she noticed was Demetri staring at Hawk, sitting on a bench by himself. He looked upset about something, to the point where she wanted to go talk to him. But, Robby beat her to it. “Is it actually okay if I go talk to Demetri?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shrugged. “Sure. Whatever you want. I’m gonna go talk to Hawk, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good.” Robby walked away, going to sit next to Demetri on the bench. As Evelyn watched him talk to her brother, the butterflies started to stir again. Anybody that could put up with Demetri, let alone like him? That was a person that she wanted to keep around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, everyone.” Evelyn called, joining their game. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ev.” Both Hawk and Aisha responded. They started playing volleyball again, which Evelyn was unfortunately terrible at. As coordinated as she was when it came to dance, the volleyball just soared over her head each time that it came near her. She glanced over her shoulder back to where Demetri and Robby were sitting, and noticed that he was watching her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, Evelyn decided that she was going to try her damndest to impress him. The next time the ball came her way, she spiked it as hard as she could, aiming it over the net. However, the ball went flying backwards instead, smacking Hawk right in the nose. “Oh, my God!” Evelyn exclaimed, running over to him. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” He insisted, wiping the blood off of his nose. “Maybe we shouldn’t… maybe we should do something else, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s probably a good idea.” Evelyn felt her phone buzz in the back pocket of her jean shorts, and she pulled it out to see who texted her.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Nice shot, babe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Meet me at your car in 5 minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The use of the word ‘babe’ felt extremely pointed, but Evelyn definitely wasn’t complaining. The second part, though… </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Meet me at your car in 5 minutes”</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What was he planning?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry about your nose, Hawk.” Evelyn said as she put her phone away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk walked over to where she stood, sitting on the ground next to her. “Don’t worry. It was an accident.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She followed suit, sitting with her legs crossed neatly in front of her. “So, how are you? I feel like I haven’t really seen you since before your transformation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doing okay,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doing okay? That’s it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else do you want me to say? Do you want me to talk about how badass I feel, or how I’m not getting shit on by Kyler every day?” Hawk rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just trying to talk to you. Damn.” Evelyn mumbled. “I do like the hair, though. It’s different, but it suits you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced up at her, surprised. “You do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do. You should let me help you dye it when you want a change,” she offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What color would you do?” Hawk asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think red would look really badass, and red is a Cobra Kai color.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Red would be badass,” he agreed. “Not yet, though. I just changed it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you change it?” Evelyn asked. She’d conveniently missed the day at training when Hawk came in as Hawk for the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sensei told me that I needed to flip the script. Be something other than a loser with a weird lip.” Hawk explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never saw you as a loser with a weird lip.” Evelyn said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were the only one besides Demetri.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Runs in the family.” She smiled at him, getting a rare smile in return. Not a new Hawk smirk. A real Eli smile. His smiles always melted Evelyn’s heart. Before things got too awkward and sappy, she decided to change the subject. “So, what are you doing for this ‘Breaking Barriers’ project?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you won’t tell anyone, I was actually going to talk about the Stonewall Riots. Pick one of the people from there. My moms made me watch a documentary about it the other day, and it was badass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is badass.” Evelyn agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They threw bricks at the police!” Hawk exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded vigorously, a big smile still on her face. “To fight for their rights!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are very different people,” he pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why we’re friends. I wouldn’t want to be friends with a clone of myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. One of you is enough. Two would be too much.” Hawk teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn made a face at him. “Very funny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But seriously? Happy birthday, Ev. I’m glad that you’re alive and all that.” This was the most sincere that Hawk got, and Evelyn knew that. ‘I’m glad that you’re alive and all that’ was basically an ‘I love you’ from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Hawk. I’m glad that you’re alive, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys.” Miguel and Sam came up from behind them, holding hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Glad to see that you’re still separable.” Evelyn teased, smacking Miguel’s calf. He blushed profusely in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy birthday, Evelyn!” Sam pulled her up from sitting, and into a tight hug. “I can’t believe that I’ve actually known you for eleven years.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More like put up with her for eleven years.” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam glared at him, before continuing on. “You’re my best friend, and I’m very glad that I know you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re my best friend, too.” Evelyn admitted. “Love you, LaRusso.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you, too.” Sam replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was suddenly reminded of what time it was, and the fact that it had been around five minutes since Robby texted her. She really needed to get going. “I’ve gotta go get something out of my car. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay!” Sam nodded in assent, causing Evelyn to walk away towards her car. It was time for her to figure out exactly what Robby was doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Evelyn walked past her car, her eyes were scanning the parking lot for Robby. A hand reached out from behind her car, pulling her next to him. Evelyn’s heart stopped for a beat as green eyes met hazel, before she realized that it was just Robby. “Jesus, Keene. I thought someone was trying to kill me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pouted slightly. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was the grabbing for? Were you trying to be cool, or something?” She teased, causing a flush to rise in his cheeks. “Oh, that was so cool. Coolest thing ever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby rolled his eyes. “Shut up, di Angelo.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, why are we here?” Evelyn asked. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t feel like sharing you anymore,” he admitted. Evelyn’s heart fluttered at his words. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord have mercy, this boy has game.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew exactly how she was reacting, too. “Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” Evelyn asked as she climbed into her car, making sure that everyone had their seatbelts on before taking off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, Robby refused to tell her where they were going as she followed his directions, her trepidation increasing with each turn that she didn’t recognize. She tried to trust him, though. Of course she trusted him. He’d never given her a reason not to trust him, and Evelyn was a very trusting person. This had led to some unfortunate situations in her past, but she continued to give her love and trust to anyone that would take it, and Robby definitely took it. Talk about being starved for love and trust, right? He really just wanted someone to care about him, to put him first, and Evelyn did exactly that. Even though they’d only known each other for about two months, he was quickly skyrocketing on her list of ‘most important people.’ He knew that, and he loved it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back at the beach, their friends had finally noticed that they were missing. “Hey, where’s Ev?” Miguel asked, glancing around the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She said she was going to her car like 15 minutes ago.” Sam looked confused. “Did she leave?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby’s not here, either. They’re probably together.” Hawk pointed out with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great.” Miguel rolled his eyes. “Evelyn ditched us to go hook up with Robby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HOOK UP?” Demetri shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was joking, Demetri. They’re probably just hanging out. They’re just friends, anyways.” Miguel reassured him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what she wants all of us to think.” Sam said. “I don’t believe that they’re just friends for a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither do any of us.” Aisha affirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope she’s okay, wherever she is.” Miguel scoffed quietly. He really didn’t like the look of this Robby Keene guy, and he definitely didn’t like whatever his ‘friendship’ with Evelyn was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, Evelyn loved whatever her ‘friendship’ with Robby was. She started laughing as he directed her into a parking spot. “You’re crazy. Skateboarding?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on! It’ll be fun! I won’t let you fall.” Robby teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I die, you’re going to be the one who has to tell my mother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m okay with that,” he said. “You ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Evelyn got out of her car, and followed him outside. “You realize that I have literally no clue what I’m doing, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that.” He grabbed his skateboard out of the back of her car, along with a collection of knee and elbow pads.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you put those in there?” Evelyn asked. “They weren’t in there earlier today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He winked at her. “I have my ways.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” As she realized what that meant, she started walking even faster to catch up. “Did you break into my car?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Evelyn. I didn’t break into your car. I just put it in there while you weren’t watching,” he reassured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Okay.” She noticed that they were passing all of the ramps, and started to get confused. “Where are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we going to some dark, abandoned alley where you’re going to murder me and feed my body to the rats that live there?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes flicked over to her, lip curled slightly in confusion. “Um. I wasn’t planning on it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it’s not out of the question?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay.” She threw up her hands in surrender. “I’ll stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few more minutes passed before Robby started to slow down. “We’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were standing in front of an elementary school playground. Evelyn quickly noticed the blacktop with a makeshift basketball court on it, the swings, and a big playscape with a slide. “What are we doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He led her over to the blacktop. “I’m gonna teach you how to skateboard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” Evelyn asked, following him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby placed the skateboard on the ground, and then stood on it. “You’re gonna stand on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just stand on it?” Evelyn laughed. “That’s easy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He winked at her. “You think it’s easy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Fine. It’s super, horribly difficult.” She teased, stepping on the skateboard. “I’m immediately going to fall and break-” The second that she put her weight on the board, it flew out from underneath her, sending her falling to the ground. “Ow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.” Robby held out his hand to her, and she took it gracefully. His hands were soft, but surprisingly strong and nimble. “You okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My pride’s a little bruised, but I’ll survive.” Evelyn winced slightly as she stretched her fingers before trying again. The second time, she anticipated the board sliding beneath her, and managed to avoid falling. “Hey! I did it!” She called excitedly. Unfortunately, her excitement caused her to move, sending her back to the ground. “Damn it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You stayed on longer that time.” Robby said, helping her haul herself back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s true.” After a few more tries, Evelyn actually started to get the hang of standing there and not falling over, no matter how excited she got. She was really proud of herself when he said that she could finally step off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was pretty good for a beginner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks. What’s next?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You actually try to push yourself while you’re on it.” Robby demonstrated with ease, coming back to her with a gentle stop. “You’re probably going to fall again, but that’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” She got back onto the board, but as soon as she tried to push herself with her left foot, she felt the board slide out from underneath her again. As she fell, arms flailing, she somehow managed to grab onto Robby’s arm, bringing him down with her. The skateboard shot away from them, but Evelyn couldn’t care less about the skateboard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could she focus on the skateboard, when Robby had quite literally fallen on her? His left leg was in between hers, his chest pressing her into the ground. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord have mercy on my soul. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Evelyn thought, staring into his eyes. He was so close to her. It would be so easy to just pull him down, but alas. She couldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she said, the awkwardness and tension consuming her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, princess.” Robby sat up, and helped her up, too. The word princess made Evelyn almost lose her mind, but she thankfully managed to suppress the smile that threatened to spread across her face. “I told you that you were going to fall.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Yup. Sorry for taking you down with me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t apologize.” Robby winked at her, causing another scream of pure teen lovesickness to rise up in Evelyn’s throat. Evelyn’s heart skipped another beat as Robby moved in closer to her. He kept moving closer, but he didn’t kiss her, as badly as she wanted him to. “You had a leaf in your hair.” He pulled it out quickly, holding it up to show her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” They both noticed that the sun was starting to set, causing their plans to change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby went over to grab his board, which had landed next to one of the basketball hoops. “Do you wanna go sit over there instead? It’s getting dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Evelyn nodded, following him to the swings. When she sat down, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. There were four new texts from Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Where are you?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Are you with Robby?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Demetri wants me to ask if you’re hooking up with him </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m so sorry he typed that and sent it without showing me first</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes at her brother’s comment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Robby asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just Miguel. He wanted to know where we are,” she said, tapping out her response quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Robby scoffed quietly, but not quietly enough that she didn’t hear. “Miguel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Tell Demetri that I’m not hooking up with him (wtf)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So you’re together?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah he’s with me rn</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. Have fun ;)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I hate you</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You know you love me</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If that’s what you need to tell yourself</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your problem with Miguel, anyways?” Evelyn asked as she looked up from her phone. “You get mad every time I mention him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby didn’t say anything. He was thinking about just how much about his relationship with his dad, and his dad’s relationship with Miguel, it was time for her to know. “Can I be honest with you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” she said. “Always.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s about my dad.” Robby admitted. “As I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out by now, he’s never really been around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured, but I’m sorry. That sucks.” Evelyn said, glancing over at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Yeah. It sucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, what does Miguel have to do with your dad?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My dad decided somewhere along the way that Miguel would be a better son than I would. Miguel’s basically replaced me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could hardly believe that. “Your dad has a relationship with Miguel, but not with you? That’s… that’s really awful. I can’t imagine having to deal with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. There’s more to it than I’m telling you, though.” Robby said. “Someday you’ll get the rest of the story, but that’s not today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Evelyn thought for a second, remembering a question she’d been wanting to ask since the day that she first found out that Eduardo wasn’t his real name. “About your dad, that is. I do have another question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t particularly want to ask this question, because she didn’t want to disturb anything about their relationship, but she had to know. “Why were you using a fake identity the first time we met? Who’s Eduardo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Air hissed through Robby’s teeth. He knew that this day was going to come, but he was rather enjoying postponing it. There was no way that Evelyn would still want to be his friend after she found out who he really was. But, he was being honest with her. He’d already told her about his dad. “I don’t want you to hate me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I hate you?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I used to be…” He grimaced, not knowing how to say what he had to. “I used to be a pretty bad person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes went wide at his tone. “Did you murder anybody?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you set anything on fire?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what’d you do that was so terrible?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steal stuff. Drugs. A lot of stealing stuff,” he admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’d you steal?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d pretend to be an employee at the Tech Town, and I’d steal their electronics when they gave them to me to fix them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Her eyes flicked downwards towards her phone. Is that what he was planning on doing the first day that they met?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not doing that anymore, though.” He reassured her, his hand brushing hers as he reached towards her swing. “I quit. I told Trey and Cruz that I was done with them. They beat me up pretty badly when I turned on them a few weeks back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They beat you up?” Evelyn’s confusion quickly morphed into concern. “They hurt you? Are you okay? Are you safe? Are they going to hurt you again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn, I’m okay. I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glanced over at him. “I’m glad that you’re okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” He really didn’t anticipate this reaction from her. “You’re not mad at me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I be mad at you?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I did all of that stuff. You should hate me. Be worried that I’m gonna steal your phone now,” he protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said that you stopped. I’m more worried about them beating you up than I am about the safety of my phone.” She traced the outline of her phone, which was sitting in her lap. “Speaking of my phone, why didn’t you steal it? I literally put it in your hand. It would’ve been that easy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were sitting there the whole time. You would’ve noticed in ten seconds if it was gone.” Robby was very much lying to her. While it’s true that she would’ve noticed if her phone was gone, there was another reason that he didn’t steal her phone. One that he wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s getting late.” Robby checked the time on her phone quickly, and realized that it was almost completely dark. “I should probably go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she repeated. Evelyn didn’t want him to go, but she knew that it was probably time. Demetri was probably wondering where she was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy birthday, princess.” He got up from the swing, and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before skateboarding off into the darkness.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>redone 5/6/2021. nothing really changed except for some wording</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn has a meeting with her new mentor, and then there's a party!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Sam</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What’s going on?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing. Don’t really want to go to school today haha</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither do I ugh</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, what happened when you totally ditched us?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sorry about that</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’ll be okay if you tell me what happened!!! I want details</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby took me to this elementary school playground and taught me how to skateboard</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I don’t know if I should be creeped out or think that’s cute</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was cute, actually</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elementary school? That sounds like he was trying to murder you</span>
</p><p>
  <span>THAT’S WHAT I SAID TOO <br/></span>
  <span>Why are you more like my twin than Demetri most of the time???</span>
</p><p>
  <span>💜</span>
</p><p>
  <span>💗</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, he took you to an elementary school and taught you to skateboard?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We also had a Talk</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A talk?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A Talk. Capital T</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, a Talk. About what?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His family, and the whole fake identity thing</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as I trust you, I’m actually not gonna tell you that stuff. That’s his business</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I get that. Anything you can tell me?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, he kept calling me princess, and he kissed me on the cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Happy birthday, princess”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>WAIT REALLY OMG</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I KNOW I LITERALLY DIED<br/></span>
  <span>STILL AM DYING</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO A MEETING<br/></span>
  <span>WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS NOT OVER TEXT<br/></span>
  <span>LIKE RIGHT NOW!!!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I know aggghhh<br/></span>
  <span>At least it's with Dr. Badass, so it'll be a fun meeting</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I know :/ I can't believe you got to her first.<br/></span>
  <span>That would be such an epic project</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I'll tell you all about it when we hang out later!!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ok! Bye, Ev</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bye</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker poked her head out of her office. “Evelyn?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi. Yes. I’m here.” She ran down the hallway, hair messy and eyes wild. Evelyn hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before. She’d stared at the ceiling for what felt like decades, just replaying the scene with Robby in her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Happy birthday, princess.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn had to fight the urge to fling herself into a wall whenever she remembered it. How did she manage to get this guy? How did she manage to find him? There was no conceivable way in her mind that someone like that would ever come near her, let alone do anything of the magnitude that happened the night before. “Happy freaking birthday,” she mumbled to herself before following Dr. Baker into her office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Evelyn. Why did you ask to see me?” Dr. Baker asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know about the project that us sophomores are doing, right? The ‘Breaking Barriers’ one?” Dr. Baker nodded, allowing Evelyn to continue. “I was hoping that I could interview you for mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker blinked in confusion. “Why me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because of this.” Evelyn unzipped her backpack, pulling out the newspaper and sliding it across Dr. Baker’s desk. “I know you were an All Valley champion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do karate?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn nodded. “I’m in Cobra Kai. My friend Aisha and I are the only girls who have ever been in it, and it’d be nice to talk to someone other than her about what it’s like to be a girl in karate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cobra Kai, huh?” Dr. Baker laughed slightly, readjusting her glasses on her face. “The stories I could tell you about Cobra Kai, especially that Johnny Lawrence.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s eyes widened. “You knew Sensei Lawrence in high school?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Johnny Lawrence is a sensei now?” Evelyn smiled brightly, nodding. “Lord help us all.” Dr. Baker mumbled to herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How well do you know Sensei?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t know each other personally, but I knew of him. He was a senior when I was a sophomore, and a real…” Dr. Baker had a lot of descriptive words for Evelyn’s new mentor, but none of them were particularly nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jerk?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker smiled softly at Evelyn’s language. “That’s one way to put it. He made a lot of people’s lives very miserable back in high school. Him and the rest of his Cobra Kais. I’m surprised he let you and Aisha join, actually. It was a boy’s club back when I was in high school, especially under John Kreese.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Who’s John Kreese?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The old sensei of Cobra Kai.” Dr. Baker explained. “He’s probably the most horrible, racist, misogynistic old man I’ve ever met in my life. He did pass away a few years ago, though. Tragic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just called him horrible.” Evelyn pointed out. “Why’d you say tragic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker raised an eyebrow at her. “Just because someone is horrible doesn’t mean they deserve to die. It’s still sad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s true. You’re right.” Evelyn admitted. “So this Kreese guy trained Sensei Lawrence?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trained him into a bully, more like it. The things he did to Daniel LaRusso were just horrific. Your sensei wouldn’t leave him alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn could hardly believe her luck. Not only was Dr. Baker a complete badass, she also knew her two semi-father figures in high school. “You know Mr. L, too? He’s my best friend’s dad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker smiled at Evelyn. “Oh, I’m sure Daniel is a great dad. He always was nice to me. He actually waved at me at that All Valley, you know. The one with the crane kick. He wished me good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s really sweet,” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody else ever did that, you know.” Dr. Baker glanced back down to the newspaper. “It was practically a sin in their eyes for a Black woman to do karate. There’s a reason why I quit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish it wasn’t like that. That’s really-” Evelyn caught herself before she swore in front of her principal. “That sucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have faith, though.” Dr. Baker said reassuringly. “It’s been a long time since I was an All Valley champion. Maybe it’ll be your turn someday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile broke across Evelyn’s face. “I sure hope so. That would be awesome.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t forget to focus on your studies, though. Karate is great, but karate will only get you so far.” Dr. Baker reminded Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Evelyn nodded begrudgingly. “I make pretty decent grades. I’m on the honor roll and everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you are. We want to keep it that way, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Evelyn said, trying to redirect the conversation back to the reason she was there. “Can you tell me about the day you won the All Valley?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The day I won the All Valley was probably the third best day of my life. The second being the day I graduated from college, and the first being the day I found out that my dissertation was approved, and I got my phD.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your phD in?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker smiled proudly. “Justice and Diversity in Education.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s so badass!” Evelyn exclaimed, forgetting her self-imposed rule. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Language, Evelyn.” Dr. Baker chided her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn bowed her head slightly. “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is pretty badass, though.” Dr. B admitted. “So, like I said, winning the All Valley was the third best day of my life. It was a really tough road. My sensei was the only reason that I made it to the finals. He helped me to push through all of the backlash and hate that I received, but he understood when I finally quit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you quit?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I joined karate to learn how to defend myself against bullies. Not to get bullied.” Dr. Baker explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn nodded. “That makes sense, Dr. Baker. I’m really sorry that you had to put up with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When’s your All Valley?” Dr. Baker glanced over to the calendar on her wall. “If it stayed around the same time of year it should be soon, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s next Saturday.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker’s eyes lit up. She really missed the competitions, and she also really cared about Evelyn. Dr. Baker honestly had half a mind to go to the All Valley to support Evelyn. “How are you feeling?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m nervous, of course. I don’t really think that I’m gonna win, but I think that Miguel could. He’s been training harder than any of us, and for longer than any of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel?” Dr. Baker asked. “Is he the one that you came into my office with on the first day of school?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That’s him.” Evelyn smiled at the mention of her friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He seemed nice. Is he your boyfriend?” Dr. Baker teased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head vigorously. “Definitely not. He’s with my friend, Sam. Mr. LaRusso’s daughter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daniel LaRusso let his daughter date a Cobra Kai?” Dr. Baker asked incredulously. “Things really have changed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn grimaced. “I’m not too sure that Mr. L knows about Sam and Miguel’s relationship, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Dr. Baker understood. “The drama never ends, does it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, ma’am. Unfortunately, it does not.” This was absolutely the truth. Everywhere Evelyn turned, there was drama. Aisha and Sam fighting because Sam bullied her (which Evelyn still hadn’t fully forgiven Sam for), Miguel and Robby fighting over Sensei Lawrence… She truly had no idea how bad it was going to get, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just try and keep your head above it, and remember that no boy is worth losing a friend over.” Dr. Baker advised her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s true.” Evelyn absolutely agreed with that statement. No boy was worth losing a friend over. “Thanks for talking to me, Dr. Baker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Feel free to stop by anytime, Evelyn. I’d love to talk to you more about karate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be awesome.” The bell rang, effectively dismissing Evelyn. “Bye, Dr. Baker! Have a great day!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s phone rang later that day, and she picked it up immediately once she realized who it was. “Hey, Sam.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! My dad invited Robby to stay for dinner. Do you want to come over?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One second. Gotta ask my mom.” Evelyn put her phone down on her desk, and walked down the hallway. “Hey, Mom?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Marie looked up from the book that she was reading.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I go over to Sam’s for dinner?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marie sighed slightly, clearly thinking. “I’d rather you stayed here, honestly. You’ve got dance early tomorrow morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes sense. Bye, Mom.” Evelyn smiled at her mom, before walking back and picking her phone up again. “My mom wants me to stay here. Thanks for inviting me, though. You didn’t have to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did.” Sam replied. “Just wanted to let you know that I’m not trying to hit on your boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes. “He’s not my boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yet.” Sam teased her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A realization struck Evelyn. “Wait. Should you tell Miguel about this? Having dinner with another guy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby’s just a friend, so I don’t think I need to.” Sam said. “Anyways, Miguel knows that Robby’s involved with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shrugged. “Okay. Whatever you want to do. Tell Robby that I said hi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let him say hi himself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a whispered conversation that Evelyn could only hear part of on the other end, before the voice changed. “Hi, Evelyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Robby.” Evelyn smiled brightly at the sound of his voice. “How are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing alright. How are you?” Robby asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty well! I had a meeting with Dr. Baker earlier which was super awesome.” Evelyn said. “She's such a badass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby had heard all about Evelyn’s new project, and how cool it was that ‘the principal of her freaking school was an All Valley champion.’ “What’d you talk about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mostly the day of the All Valley that she won, but we also talked a lot about Sensei, and how Cobra Kai used to be. She also knew Mr. L back in high school, which is super awesome.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’d she say about your sensei?” Robby knew how dangerous of a game that he was playing when he asked her questions about his dad, but he didn’t really care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That he used to be a total bully, but it was all his sensei’s fault. Apparently Cobra Kai used to be even more intense than it is, with the whole ‘Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy’ thing. Sensei’s definitely changed, though.” Evelyn’s mind flicked back to the first training session after the fight, and how horrible he was to Hawk before he became Hawk. “Well, he’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>as </span>
  </em>
  <span>much of a bully. He’s still pretty hard on us, but it’s just because he wants us to do well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby didn’t know what to say to that. There was a lot to unpack there. First, his dad being a bully in high school (something that didn’t surprise him), then him being hard on his students, and then him wanting to do well. Robby didn’t believe for a second that his dad wanted him to do well, and it was still pretty painful watching him care about other kids and being unable to step up for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn quickly realized that she’d said something wrong, and that it was time for her to abandon ship. “I should go, but have fun at the LaRussos, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.” Robby affirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Text me when you get home, too,” she interjected before he could hang up. “I always worry about you getting home safely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “I will. Don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try not to. Bye, Robby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye, Evelyn.” He handed the phone back to Sam, who said a quick goodbye before hanging up. Evelyn set it down with a gentle thud, feeling more grateful than ever that her and Sam were back on good terms. She’d missed Sam more than anything while the two of them were fighting. Those two months after Sam had officially stopped returning her calls were two of the most frustrating and painful months that Evelyn had in a while. She’d been through a lot in her life, what with her dad dying and watching her brother get bullied (and getting bullied herself) for most of her adolescence. But, she knew that as long as she had Sam she could get through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s not texting me back</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s fine.<br/></span>
  <span>She’s probably out with her parents or something</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is she? <br/></span>
  <span>Or is she too busy hanging out with her new boyfriend to notice her phone? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What are you talking about?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby Keene?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He’s playing you.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I saw him having dinner with Sam last night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ugh I can’t believe you found out</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Why were you over there anyways?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Stalker</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I wanted to meet her dad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Omfg</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You’ve been dating for like two months.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Why the sudden need to meet her dad?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She called me her lab partner when her dad caught us calling the other day!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, because her dad hates Sensei. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You knew this</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So her dad’s automatically going to hate me because I’m in Cobra Kai?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn’t say that</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’ve know the LaRussos practically my entire life.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Mr. L isn’t automatically going to hate you over a karate rivalry. He’s a good guy</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>So are you</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait. What do you mean, "Ugh I can't believe you found out?"</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You knew about Sam having dinner with this guy and you didn’t tell me?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You just called Robby ‘this guy’ I-</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Anyways, yes. Sam texted me last night inviting me to come over</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Didn’t want me to think that she was hitting on Robby</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Because she wasn’t</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she could invite you over, but not me?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You’re taking this way too personally</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Like I said, I’ve known the LaRussos forever</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I ate dinner there more than at my own house growing up</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Inviting your friend over for dinner with your parents and inviting your boyfriend over for dinner with your parents are two vastly different things</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still doesn’t explain why she’s not texting me back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Come on.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Has Sam ever given you a reason not to trust her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I guess she hasn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>See? Trust me.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Sam and Robby are just friends</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever you say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, Miguel</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Since when did you become so possessive</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Also you’ve talked to Robby maybe once</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>For all of ten seconds</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Why do you hate him so much</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He seems like an asshole.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>???</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You don’t want Sam’s dad to judge you because you’re in Cobra Kai, actively being trained</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>by a guy that bullied him for years</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>And then you judge someone else because they ‘seem like an asshole’</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You know I love you, but that’s some bullshit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Read 10:25 AM</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “That went well.” But, her phone lit up with another text from Miguel a few minutes later.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Are we still having lunch together?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was as close to an apology as the new version of Miguel was going to get. His behavior was definitely starting to scare Evelyn. Since he’d started going out with Sam he’d become significantly more hostile, seeing each guy that she interacted with as a threat to their relationship. Evelyn thought that this was ridiculous, and reminded him of that at every available opportunity. Not out of malice, just out of support for both him and Sam. They were two of her closest friends, and she didn’t know how she’d be able to handle the drama if the two of them split up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later that day, Evelyn did actually meet Miguel, Aisha, Demetri, and Hawk for lunch. They all sat together outside by a playground, where there were children laughing and playing. Bert was there, too. Evelyn thought that Bert was hilarious, and he was a good fighter for someone his age, and for someone his size.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk was sparring with Bert behind a bench when Demetri and Evelyn got there. “Hey, guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was sitting on said bench and pouting at his phone. “Hi, Ev. Demetri.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn went and sat next to Miguel, as one does with their friend who they’re definitely not mad at. She quickly noticed what he was staring at as her eyes flicked down to his phone. “Miguel, come on. I already told you that Sam and Robby aren’t involved. She likes you. Not him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what I saw.” Miguel insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, fine.” Hawk kicked Bert in the face, sending him falling to the ground. “So you saw her eating dinner with some chode. He’s probably her brother or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hawk, you know who Robby is. He’s not her brother. And even if he was, brothers don’t look at their sisters like that.” Miguel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Depends on what part of the country you’re in.” Demetri said offhandedly, before remembering that he had a sister who was sitting right next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn looked sick. “Demetri, that’s so disgusting.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Demetri definitely agreed with her sentiment, regretting his comment the second that it passed his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel immediately tried to change the subject from that particular topic, realizing how uncomfortable everyone was. “Look, I just don’t want what happened to Sensei to happen to me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, it worked. Evelyn instantly flipped back into ‘Miguel’s being ridiculous’ mode. “Miguel, come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk stopped sparring with Bert, and came over to stand behind Miguel. “Alright, so you go over to this kid and beat his ass so he doesn’t have the chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes at the stupidity of teenage boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, at least one of them wasn’t a complete idiot. “Don’t listen to Eli,” said Demetri.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk’s jaw tightened. “It’s Hawk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, whatever.” Demetri grimaced. “The fact is, Sam’s given you no reason not to trust her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I said!” Evelyn interjected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess you’re both right.” Miguel finally admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That little bitch.” Aisha gasped as she stared at her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was instantly on red alert. Calling someone a bitch was a very personal thing for her (since it was a regular insult used towards her, especially by Kyler), and she never used that word unless she really, really needed to. This meant that whatever happened was bad. “Aisha, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know that video I posted of me breaking that board? Look what Yasmine commented.” Aisha held her phone out, where the comment was displayed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘Impressive… can’t believe the belt made it around your waist’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn scoffed loudly. “Seriously, Yasmine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shit.” Miguel agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gotta do something.” Aisha said vehemently, trying to come up with an idea in her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, how about we kidnap her and have my boy Rico tattoo ‘bitch’ on her face?” Hawk suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn instantly shook her head. “Don’t use that word, Hawk. I’ll fight you if you do that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev’s right. Calm down, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hawk</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Demetri rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I hear how you’re saying it, and I don’t like it.” Hawk snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, wait. I’ve got a better idea. Look.” Aisha held her phone back out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a story from Yasmine pulled up, announcing the fact that she was having a VIP birthday party that afternoon at the Canyon.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why would you post it on your story and say VIP only? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of saying VIP only?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yasmine’s throwing a birthday party at the Canyon later?” Miguel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if we strike first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still don’t understand how we’re going to buy alcohol.” Demetri said, completely oblivious to the fact that people who are over the age of 21 don’t typically question their ability to buy alcohol, and that loudly announcing his doubt was not a good idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never underestimate the power of the Hawk.” Hawk announced, striding towards the alcohol section. He grabbed a 24 pack of beer, and then went up to the counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sup.” He nodded politely at Hawk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk noticed that the guy standing behind the counter was wearing a Dodgers t-shirt. “Oh, did you catch the game last night? See Puig with the walk-off?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, man, but I heard he flipped the bat to the moon.” Evelyn had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, since she harbored a deep dislike of most sports. A dislike that Demetri fortunately shared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I was at the bar last night with my buddies from work.” Hawk was clearly trying to remind this guy that he was over the age of 21, an obvious lie. “Whole place went wild.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to go, but my girlfriend dragged me to some lame-ass play.” This was a topic of conversation that Evelyn was very interested in. She kind of wanted to ask him what play, but she figured that it wouldn’t be a good idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bitches will be bitches.” Hawk shook his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hawk, I swear to God.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn thought bitterly. “So, how much is it gonna cost?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gotta check your ID first,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk smiled. “I’m flattered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy standing behind the counter clearly was not taking any of Hawk’s bullshit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you really think I’m underage? That’s my frickin’ kid right there.” Hawk gestured to Bert, who looked very confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I still need to see it. It’s required by law.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for sure.” Hawk had finally realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere with this conversation. “Just upholding the law. It’s all good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk handed him his fake ID, which after a few glances, was accepted as real. “Whatever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk made a happy face at the group, holding up his hands in an imitation of a rock star. “How about eight bottles of that vodka right there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Hawk paid, Evelyn noticed that Miguel was standing outside, probably calling Sam again. She rolled her eyes, and turned to Aisha. “He does realize that calling someone a million times in a row is a huge red flag, right? If I didn’t know him, I would tell Sam that this is unhealthy, and that she should probably break up with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha definitely agreed with that statement. “Yeah, ever since they’ve gotten together, he’s turned into such a…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jerk?” Evelyn suggested again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha laughed quietly. “I know that Sam’s his first girlfriend and people act weird with their first girlfriends, but this is a little much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely.” Evelyn nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, guys. Are you ready to go?” Hawk thankfully didn’t overhear any of their conversation, or he would’ve gotten angry at Evelyn and Aisha. Nobody talked bad about Miguel in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re ready. So, what’s the plan?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already posted something on my story,” Aisha explained. “We just have to go over there and get set up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good!” Evelyn said, having absolutely no idea what she was going to do once she actually got to this party. She had half a mind to invite Robby, but that was a step too far. You invite somebody to come to a party with you if you’re dating, and they weren’t dating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Evelyn was helping Aisha set out stuff for this party, she had a question. “Hey, Aisha?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Aisha came over to stand next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is really embarrassing that I’m having to ask you, but I have absolutely no idea. Should I invite Robby to this party? Is that a thing that people do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you should invite him.” Hawk chimed in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You called him a chode this afternoon and now you want me to invite him to this party?” Hawk's brain baffled Evelyn most of the time, but especially right then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what chicks do when they like someone, right?” Hawk shrugged. “You should do it. Ask him out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s eyes widened. “That’s not asking him out, is it? Asking people to come to parties is a friend thing, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev, come on. You’re taking this way too seriously. Here.” Aisha grabbed Evelyn’s phone out of her hand. “I’ll do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aisha, n-” It was too late. The text had been sent, and Aisha was handing her her phone back.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey<br/></span>
  <span>My friends and I are having a party at the Canyon later, do you want to come?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if he says no?” Evelyn was starting to panic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then that means he hates you.” Aisha rolled her eyes. “Or it means that he’s busy. You’re fine. Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Evelyn realized that she definitely was a little high-strung, especially when it came to Robby. But, she knew that Aisha was right. She had to calm down, because she was taking it too seriously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the setup went fairly smoothly, but things really started getting exciting once people showed up. Specifically Yasmine, Moon, and Kyler. Evelyn spotted them at the top, and a gleeful look spread across her face when she realized how pissed Yasmine looked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good. It’s what she deserves for body-shaming Aisha.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes when she saw that Miguel was still staring at his phone, looking for a text from Sam that just wasn’t coming at this point. She felt pretty bad for him. He had to be really into Sam to be acting this ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, she was waiting on a text just as much as he was. A text that fortunately for her, was actually coming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had just started to get dark when her phone buzzed.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>I’ll be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn actually squeaked when she saw the text, a fact that she was immediately mortified by. Miguel noticed, and came over to her. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing.” She was trying to act chill, but chill did not come easily to Evelyn di Angelo. “It’s nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Ev. Whatever you say.” Miguel pulled his phone back out, and returned to staring at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, this is pathetic,” she said. “I’m texting Amanda. She’ll know if something’s going on with Sam.” </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Amanda LaRusso</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey, Amanda!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hi, Evelyn! What’s going on?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I was just wondering if Sam’s okay. She hasn’t been texting me back</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s grounded. I took her phone earlier today.<br/></span>
  <span>I would let her say hi to you, but she’s actually giving Robby a ride home right now. He sprained his ankle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, no! <br/></span>
  <span>Is he okay?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked fine to me. I just didn’t want him skateboarding all that way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That makes sense. Thank you so much</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tell Marie that I said hi!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Giving Robby a ride home? I don’t believe that for a second.” Miguel had started to pace, holding his beer can in his right hand. “I was right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, come on. She’s not cheating with Robby.” Evelyn was really getting sick of reminding Miguel of this fact. The more and more she reminded him, the less she started to believe it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to remind herself that her and Robby weren’t dating, and even if Sam was cheating with him, it was in no way her problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She also tried to remind herself that Robby said he was coming to the party, but now he was probably too busy with Sam to come. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Great. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Of course Robby would choose Sam over her! Sam was perfect in Evelyn’s eyes. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she gets perfect grades, she’s everything that Evelyn wishes she was. Of course Evelyn loved Sam. But, she was also pretty jealous of Sam sometimes. Especially when it comes to Robby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was definitely drunk at this point, a fact that was scaring Evelyn. Drunk guys with angry tendencies scared her, and Miguel was turning into a drunk guy with newly developed angry tendencies. Evelyn didn’t drink. She liked being in control of her own decisions, and she was also the designated driver. She’d driven Demetri and Miguel to the party. She wasn’t about to leave them hanging.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speaking of Demetri, Evelyn noticed that he was sitting on a log, talking to Hawk. Evelyn was very glad that they were making up. Hawk had been around for almost as long as Sam had. She would hate for him and Demetri to stop being friends over Hawk’s new hairstyle, and his change in personality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things were actually going pretty well, at least for Evelyn. Aisha had finally stood up to Yasmine, giving her the most badass and brutal front wedgie that Evelyn had ever seen in her entire life. “Aisha, I can’t believe you did that!” Evelyn gasped, running over to her friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha was smiling brighter than Evelyn had ever seen her smile. “I can’t believe I did that either!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cheers to standing up to Yasmine!” They tapped their drinks against one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No mercy.” Aisha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No mercy, my friend.” Evelyn’s eyes widened when she saw a sight at the top of the hill. That was definitely Sam… with Robby? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Everything instantly made sense to her. This was Sam giving Robby a ride home, but instead of giving him a ride home, she gave him a ride here. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good job.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn thought proudly, walking over to where her two friends were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone else had noticed Sam with Robby though, and he wasn’t as happy as Evelyn was. He’d picked up on the fact that they were holding hands as they walked down the hill, something that Evelyn had willfully ignored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys!” Evelyn said as she made it over to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Evelyn.” Robby said. “I told you I’d be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn smiled at him, beyond excited at the fact that he actually came. “You did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel had also walked over to where the now-trio was. “Hey.” His tone was of pure hostility, something Evelyn instantly picked up on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, everything’s okay-” Evelyn started, but Miguel cut her off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was too busy sizing himself up next to Robby to see sense. “You brought this guy, huh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby works for my dad, Miguel.” Sam was trying to explain herself. “We’re just-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was clearly a sore spot. “Oh, for your dad, huh? OK, that makes a lot of sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, come on.” Evelyn pulled him away from Sam, but he shrugged her off. This was something that Robby definitely noticed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked. “Wait. Have you been drinking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no.” Miguel shook his head. “You don’t get to turn this on me. I texted and called you all day, and you couldn’t answer me back once?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Evelyn pulled him back again, but he continued to shrug her off. “You know that she was grounded.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I literally couldn’t. My mom took my phone.” Sam protested at the exact same time that Evelyn was speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s so convenient!” Miguel was really starting to get riled up at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, man, just tell-” Robby decided to intervene, realizing that neither Evelyn nor Sam was getting anywhere with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YOU GET OUT OF HERE!” Miguel shoved Robby harshly, sending him falling to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miguel, stop it!” Sam exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby scrambled back off of the ground, fists raised. “Hey, man. You wanna try that again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try it again, huh?” Miguel tried to hit Robby again, but unfortunately Sam had tried to intervene. So, instead of hitting Robby, Miguel’s arm connected with Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam, look, I’m sorry.” Miguel tried to help her up, but she shoved him away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, you asshole! What the hell was that?” Sam’s voice got very quiet as she looked at him. “My dad was right about Cobra Kai. Good luck at the tournament. I won’t be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn knew that Sam’s words were directed solely towards Miguel, or she would’ve protested. She did want Sam to be at the tournament, but she also knew that Miguel had just hit her. If Sam didn’t show up, Evelyn would respect her decision. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby glanced over at Evelyn, and she nodded at him, allowing him to go after Sam. Miguel was still standing there, staring at where Sam was running off. “What in the name of all that’s holy was that?” Evelyn exclaimed, whirling around to face him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t start with me, Ev,” he snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, no, no." Evelyn shook her head at him. "Don't </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>start with me, Diaz. I'm your ride home. I wouldn’t make me upset if I were you. When you get back to your apartment, you're gonna drink some water, get some sleep, and realize how much of a jerk you're being. And then you’re never going to pull a stunt like this ever again, because next time I'm not going to clean up your messes. Is that understood?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Miguel mumbled, following her to her car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Demetri, come on.” Evelyn waved to him. “We’re going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri said a quick goodbye to Hawk, and then caught up with the other two. Before Evelyn got in the car, she pulled out her phone and started texting.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m sorry that I couldn’t go after you. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I have to make sure that Miguel gets home safe and doesn’t try to fight anyone else</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Don’t worry. I get it</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Are you okay? He shoved you pretty hard</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m okay</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is Sam okay?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would you be okay?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, I wouldn’t be okay</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>When she's less upset, please tell her that I'm here if she wants to talk about it</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I will</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel’s not normally like this, I promise.<br/></span>
  <span>He’s a good guy</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got super drunk, and then hit his girlfriend</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>That doesn’t look good</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When you put it that way… </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He’s been on thin ice lately.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>It’s only cracking, though. I don’t think anything’s fallen through yet</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nice analogy</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I try my best<br/></span>
  <span>I really have to go, though. I’ll text you tomorrow</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sounds good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Goodnight, Robby</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Goodnight.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's the day of the All Valley!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: In the show (so in this chapter), Hawk makes a comment about s**c*d*. Please take care of yourself if this will trigger you. It happens almost immediately after Bert mentions Johnny not showing up for the tournament.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Evelyn heard voices as she walked down the hallway, wearing her hair in a tight ponytail, leggings, and a Cobra Kai t-shirt. It was the day of the All Valley, and she was so ready to win it. She wasn’t gonna win it for anybody else, though. She was gonna win it for herself, win it to show every single person who’d put her through anything in her life that she was worth more than they told her. She was gonna show that Kyler, and anyone like him, just how strong she could be. Evelyn had been training hard every single day for the last two months, and her fighting was night and day from the very first time that she walked onto the premises of Cobra Kai, and got kicked in the chest by Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she stepped into the kitchen, she saw a familiar figure. “Aunt Emilia?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here, bambina!” Her aunt held open her arms, and Evelyn ran straight into them. It had been a few months since they saw each other, since they were both so busy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe that you’re here!” Evelyn exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. “Mom didn’t tell me that you were coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I came! It’s your very first karate tournament! I’ve been to every single one of your dance recitals. I’m so glad that I didn’t have court today, since I wasn’t about to start missing events now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” Marie asked. “Are you ready to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn smiled at her mom, nodding vigorously. “Yeah! Wait. Where’s Demetri?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s still in his room. Sulking.” Marie said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is he upset again?” Evelyn asked, before remembering. “Oh, right. Because of Hawk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to Eli again? Did they have a fight?” Emilia looked confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s trying out some new stuff, and Demetri feels left behind.” Marie explained. “He just needs some time to adjust.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn saw Demetri coming down the hallway. “Hey! Are you ready to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I want to go.” Demetri said, clearly pouting about Hawk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn pouted right back. “Seriously? You’re not gonna come and support me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glared at her, starting a staring contest. Fortunately for Evelyn, her resolve was far stronger than his. One flick of her eyebrow, and she’d won. “Fine. I’m going with Mom and Aunt Em, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just fine. Bye, Mom. Bye, Auntie.” Evelyn quickly kissed her mom on the cheek, before checking her bag to make sure she had everything she needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you there, baby. Break a leg!” Marie smiled at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a theater thing,” Evelyn called as she walked away. “I don’t know if you want me to break a leg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Break an arm, then!” Marie said, before Evelyn pulled open the door and left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Break an arm.” Evelyn muttered, backing out of the driveway in her car. “Sure hope nothing like that happens.” Like Emilia said, this was Evelyn’s very first karate tournament. Sure, she’d been training. She felt ready. But nothing could’ve prepared her for what happened that day, and how she reacted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled up to Robby’s apartment complex, where he was waiting outside. He smiled when he saw her, something that never failed to make Evelyn’s heart flutter. “Hey!” Robby said as he climbed into her van.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Are you ready for the tournament?” Evelyn asked, making sure his seatbelt was on before driving away (something that was drilled into her in driver’s ed).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess I’m ready.” He shrugged. “How about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same. I don’t really think that I have any chance of winning, but it’s still gonna be fun to compete!” Evelyn wanted to win, but she was telling the truth. She didn’t really think she had any chance of winning, especially since she'd only been training for a few months.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve gotta give yourself more credit than that, Evelyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the only person who ever calls me Evelyn,” she pointed out. “Everyone else just calls me Ev. Should I start calling you Robert?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed. “Please don’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your middle name, anyways?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll only tell you if you promise not to make fun of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged. “I’ll do my best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Swayze,” he admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SWAYZE?” She burst out into giggles, almost losing her grip on the wheel for a millisecond. “Your name is Robert Swayze Keene?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Robby exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said I wouldn’t make fun of you! I never promised that I wouldn’t laugh. But I have to ask, are we talking </span>
  <em>
    <span>Point Break</span>
  </em>
  <span> Swayze? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dirty Dancing</span>
  </em>
  <span> Swayze…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled. “Ha! A fan. If you think you’re so cool, what’s your middle name?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marie.” Evelyn said. “After my mom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn Marie di Angelo.” It was as if he’d never said another name before. Hers was the only one that mattered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled at him. “That’s me!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like your name,” Robby said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like my name, too.” In Evelyn’s opinion, Evelyn Marie Keene was a far better name, but that was a later problem. “Wait a second. Shouldn’t Mr. L be driving you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” His tone indicated that something clearly fractured his relationship with his mentor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He found out that-” Robby thought for a second, quickly coming up with a believable lie. He said that he was going to tell Evelyn about his dad at some point, but he figured that right then definitely wasn’t a good time, since it was right before the tournament and he was her sensei. “Mr. LaRusso found out that I got the job at his dealership so I could help my old friends steal things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her voice got really quiet. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby realized that now Evelyn really thought that he was a bad person, and immediately tried to repair it. “You know that I’ve changed though, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I know that you’ve changed, Robby,” she reassured him. “I wouldn’t be driving you to the tournament if I thought that you were still an axe murderer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. “For the last time, I’m not an axe murderer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s something that an axe murderer would say!” Evelyn exclaimed. “I don’t think that axe murderers say ‘Hi, can I get into your car? I’m an axe murderer!’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate you,” Robby said. He didn’t mean that, and she knew it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know you love me,” she teased, before realizing that she just said the L word. “You know what I mean, like, we’re obviously … friends.” Evelyn was on a roll, rambling like she’d never rambled before. “I mean, I say I love you to my friends all the time. Right. Like, I say I love you to Sam, and now I’m saying it to you, because we’re friends, and friends love each other, and I love you, since you’re my friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” He nodded, his nod exuding the same tone that her voice was. “I love you, too, because we’re friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn couldn’t believe that she’d really just blown her cover that badly. If he wasn’t sitting right next to her, she probably would’ve hit her head against the steering wheel and started screaming. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Come on, di Angelo. Pull yourself together.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They sat the rest of the drive in very uncomfortable silence, Robby fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt and Evelyn gripping the steering wheel as tight as she possibly could. The second that she hit the parking brake, he was out of the car. “I should go. Good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck to you, too.” Evelyn’s head dropped against the steering wheel, and she burst into hysterical laughter. That was exactly how she planned on saying that she loved Robby. But, that didn’t matter, because they were friends. Just friends. </span>
  <em>
    <span>GAH.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She noticed Miguel and a group of Cobras standing outside, and walked over to them. “Hey, guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Aisha said. “Glad you’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was standing there, punching the air over and over again. Evelyn glanced at Aisha like </span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s up with him?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her eyebrows at Evelyn</span>
  <em>
    <span>. Sam, remember?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn nodded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I thought he would’ve calmed down by now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Apparently not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aisha shrugged slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn snorted as she caught another look at Miguel. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clearly. Look at him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Right?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aisha and Evelyn both started laughing, terrifying the boys who had absolutely no idea what was going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you stop with the weird girl shit?” Hawk asked, eyes darting between the two of them. “It’s freaking me out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re just mad because you don’t have telepathy.” Evelyn teased him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t Demetri the one that you’re supposed to have telepathy with?” Miguel had finally stopped punching, and turned to Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I not have telepathy with more than one person?” Evelyn joked. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have what Aisha and I have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.” Miguel scoffed, walking away from them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn followed him. “Miguel, I was joking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said whatever, Ev. Stop it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you stop it. You’re being mean.” She realized that being hostile with him wasn’t going to fix everything, so she tried to calm down. “I know that you’re upset, but can you just try to be excited? It’s the All Valley. We’ve been preparing for this for months now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” he snapped. “I’ll try to be excited.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s it.” Evelyn shook her head. “Now you’re really getting on my nerves. Just tell me why you’re so mad at the universe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel glanced over at her, fire in his eyes. “You know why I’m mad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “I know. I just want you to say it. It’ll help you process.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m mad because Sam broke up with me,” he admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There we go.” Evelyn said. “Now, can we focus on the tournament, or are we gonna lose because you’re having girl problems?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not gonna lose.” Miguel insisted, punching the air one last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn straight.” She clapped him on the shoulder proudly. “Come on, Diaz. Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Sensei?” Hawk asked as Evelyn and Miguel returned to the group. “The tournament’s gonna start soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be here.” Aisha reassured everyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know about that.” Bert chimed in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Evelyn asked. “Of course Sensei’ll be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw him last night at the mini-mall,” Bert explained. “I was buying… a carton of milk when I heard him in the parking lot yelling. He seemed really upset.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” Aisha expressed the concern that everyone was now feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Bert shrugged. “I guess I’m just so used to seeing him drunk that it didn’t seem like that big a deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we’re here, and he’s not. So it’s officially a big deal.” Hawk snapped. “What if something happened to him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bert looked confused. “Like what?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. Maybe he drove his car off of a cliff, or bought a gun and blew his brains out.” Hawk suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aisha shook her head. “No, Sensei would never kill himself. That’s too pussy a move.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, calm down. I’m sure that Sensei’s fine.” Evelyn tried to reassure her now-concerned teammates. “He’s just a little late. It’s not like he’s ever on time to practice, anyways. This isn’t new behavior.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re here. We’re just gonna have to do it without him.” Hawk said with a sense of finality in his tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do what without me?” Sensei was finally there, a fact that everyone was immediately thankful for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t think that you were going to show up,” Hawk explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may not always win, but I never back out of a fight.” Sensei announced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, so let’s go!” Evelyn said. “We can sign up now that you’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sensei shook his head. “Not yet. There’s still one more lesson I have to teach you.” He led them inside of the building, and found a spot where he had everyone stand in a circle. “You’ve all learned to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers.” He was walking around the group, surveying and making eye contact with each one of his students. “I taught you to strike hard, put every ounce of your power behind everything you do. But I haven’t taught you the third rule of Cobra Kai.” He paused, allowing anticipation to gather before continuing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No mercy. The older you get, the more you’re gonna learn that life isn’t fair. You wake up one morning feeling great, and then life throws a spinning heel kick to your balls, takes a big steaming shit in your mouth. You get an F on a test. You get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, but some other dude comes and steals her away.” Evelyn glanced over at Miguel, who looked an unfortunate combination of angry and sad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your car gets set on fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone looked confused by that. That was an oddly specific thing to announce to everyone as a part of life being unfair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just when you think things are going good, everything falls apart. That's how it goes. Life shows no mercy; so neither do we.” Sensei announced. Evelyn was definitely starting to feel his speech by that point. For all of Sensei’s rambles that they had to endure, this was an excellently prepared motivational speech. “We do whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. We do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. We do whatever it takes to win! Remember who you are. You're badass. You don't give a shit. You kick ass. You're Cobra Kai.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cobra Kai!” Miguel shouted, and the rest of the group followed in suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, guys, let's get down there and kick the shit out of everybody!” Sensei said proudly. Evelyn noticed Miguel pulling his gi out of his backpack, but Sensei noticed, too, and quickly stopped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Sensei shook his head. “You’re not wearing those.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we wearing, then?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” He grabbed a big duffel bag off of the ground, and started handing out gis amongst the group. When Sensei Lawrence handed Evelyn hers, she had to fight the urge to burst into tears. It was beautiful, honestly. They were black and yellow, with a big Cobra Kai snake on the back and their names embroidered on the front. She had never felt more like a part of a group then she did in that moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that moment, they weren’t individual fighters working for themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that moment, they were a team, fighting with and for each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that moment, they were Cobra Kai.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was staring in awe at her new gi when she heard a voice from across the room. “Evelyn!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. B?” Evelyn could hardly believe it. “You showed up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker was smiling. “Of course I showed up! I had to come support my favorite student.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn walked over to Dr. Baker, an excitable bounce in her step. “Thank you so much for coming!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that your gi?” Dr. Baker gestured to the folded fabric in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, look!” Evelyn held it up excitedly. “It says ‘Ev’ on it and everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better kick some ass, girl.” Dr. Baker said. Evelyn was shocked at her use of swear words, but right now she wasn’t the principal of West Valley High School. She was just a mentor going to support her student. “Make us proud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sure will, Dr. B.” Evelyn nodded vigorously. “I sure will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby came up and stood next to her. “Hey, Ev.” This was the first time that he called her Ev, something that both of them were acutely aware of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to face him, noticing that he’d put his hair up in a tight ponytail since they last talked. “Hi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Baker immediately picked up on the energy between them, something that both of them were still pretending didn’t exist. Well, they knew that it existed. They just weren’t going to do anything about it. “I’m gonna leave you two to it, then. Good luck, Evelyn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks again, Dr. B! I hope you enjoy the tournament.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.” Dr. Baker smiled at her, and then went to go find a seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that you’ve gotta go be with the rest of your dojo, but I just wanted to see you one more time before the tournament started.” There was a cheesy grin on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This boy is going to be the death of me.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I’m glad that you did. Are you feeling any more ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I kind of wish that it wasn’t just me,” he admitted. “It’d be nice to have a group of people rooting for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m always rooting for you. You know that. You should totally join Cobra Kai after the tournament, though.” Evelyn suggested excitedly. “It’d be nice to have you around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby blanched at that idea. Evelyn picked up on his mood shift, but figured that it was just because of Miguel. “I don’t know about that, but thanks for being here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing.” Evelyn smiled at him. “I really should go, though. Sensei’s probably waiting for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck, Ev.” Robby smiled back at her, before walking away.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>THIS BOY IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Times Evelyn has wanted to run around the room screaming because of Robby: 2.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Times Evelyn has talked to Robby that day: 2.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was an excellent start to one of the most eventful days she’d had so far. Evelyn followed the rest of her dojo to the locker rooms, where she changed into her gi, wearing it with pride. The time until the tournament began passed quickly as Evelyn stretched and warmed up, making sure to take off all of her jewelry, including her necklace, before lining up behind Aisha. It was right that they were next to each other. Being one of two girls in Cobra Kai was difficult sometimes, but at least they had each other. Evelyn heard the voice of the announcer start to talk about them, and mentally prepared herself one last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From Reseda, returning to the tournament we have-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!” They chanted the name of their dojo over and over again as they jogged into the arena, eliciting cheers of approval from the audience. They knew that they looked badass, and they were all enjoying every second of it. “YUH!” They all shouted, flipping to face the other side of the arena.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that’s what I call an entrance!” The announcer said. “And a badass name for a dojo! Let’s hear it for Cobra Kai!” The audience broke out into cheers once more, specifically Moon. Evelyn could hear her voice soaring above the crowd, cheering on her boyfriend. Evelyn could seriously not believe that Hawk and Moon were dating, but she was happy for both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene.” She looked to give him one last smile of encouragement, and noticed him starting to jog across the mat. Evelyn noticed that as he jogged, he was staring down her sensei. She didn’t have any idea why he was doing that, but she admired his intensity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, folks. Get ready,” he announced. “It’s karate time.” The audience clapped appreciatively as everyone moved into place, getting ready for the first round. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev. Hi.” Robby smiled at her. He definitely didn’t expect to get paired with her, but he wasn’t complaining. They’d spent plenty of time sparring in her backyard, so they were intimately familiar with each other’s fighting styles. They were also a very even match in terms of skill level, and height. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was going to be fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Face me. Bow.” The referee said. Evelyn bowed deeply to the referee, still laughing to herself at the idea of fighting Robby. She knew that no matter who won, she was going to give it her all, and be proud of the outcome.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Face each other. Bow.” Robby turned to face Evelyn, heart pounding as he looked at her. He could feel her hazel eyes meeting his, and her eye contact was so tense that he actually had to try to keep his cool. There was just something about her that made it impossible for him to focus, something that he needed more than ever.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” The referee held his hand out between the two of them. Evelyn quickly got into fighting positions, making sure not to plant her feet too deeply so that she could be more mobile. “Fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn immediately launched herself towards Robby, remembering her mantra of striking first as well as she remembered her own name. She dodged one of his fists, blocking two kicks before she somehow managed to kick him in the stomach, cementing her point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Ev!” She heard Miguel cheering for her and waved proudly at him, smiling from ear to ear. She didn’t think that she would actually be able to score a point. Two more, and she was in the quarter finals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” She got back into fighting position. “Fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby was the one who struck first this time, doing some kind of flip kick that Evelyn had absolutely no idea how to block. Before she even knew what was happening, a fist had connected with her stomach and she was on the ground. “Point!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay, Ev?” Robby was instantly at her side, helping her up. Sparring with her was fine outside of the context of competitions, but he was always afraid that he was going to hurt her. Not because he didn’t think that she could handle it, but because he didn’t think that he could handle it if anything happened to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m okay, babe. Don’t worry.” Evelyn’s hand was on his shoulder, and she smiled at him sweetly. She had complete and total faith that he would never hurt her on purpose. And anyways, that hit to her stomach was nothing that she hadn’t taken during training. There was that one day that Sensei made Aisha punch everyone in the face, including her. That hurt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, di Angelo. Back at it.” Her sensei called as she climbed back off of the ground. She wasn’t dejected, though. 1-1 wasn’t a bad way to start off a fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready? Fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GO, XANDER!” A shout came from across the room, breaking Evelyn’s focus. This was a mistake, as Robby scored another point without thinking twice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Evelyn picked herself back up off of the ground, swearing that this was the last point that she would lose to distraction. She wasn’t even fighting whoever Xander was. She had to focus on the fight in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” Evelyn planted her feet deep into the ground. “Fight!” Robby tried to kick her in the face, which she quickly blocked. She retaliated with a punch of her own, which connected directly with his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Point, di Angelo!” Evelyn nodded at Robby, getting back into fighting positions. She hoped that she could pull one more move like that, and then she would be in the quarter finals. But, even if she didn’t, she would be very proud of herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, it’s 2-2! Whoever scores the next point will be our winner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn took a deep breath, centering herself yet again. She knew that she could win against Robby. She just had to act like a Cobra, and she knew that she could make her sensei proud. But, her gaze wandered back to Robby, and her heart skipped a beat. He was just… so beautiful. She didn’t usually describe guys as beautiful. It was either cute, or attractive, or-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready? Fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She definitely wasn’t ready, so Robby took his last point without hesitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winner!” The referee ran over, holding Robby’s arm in the air triumphantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn ran up to Robby, pulling him into a tight hug. “Good job, babe. I’m so proud of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Ev,” he said, holding onto her tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled back, smiling as she met his eyes. “Where’d you learn all those karate skills? The last time we sparred I totally kicked your ass, and I clearly can’t do that anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did not totally kick my ass.” Robby protested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I did. But you loved every second of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did great, di Angelo.” He reassured her. “Two points against Robby is no joke. I’m very proud of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Sensei.” Evelyn beamed at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby was standing awkwardly off to the side while Evelyn cheered on Bert. She was the only person who he really knew there, and he obviously couldn’t go talk to Sam or Mr. LaRusso.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go, Bert!” Evelyn cheered, jumping up and down. “No mercy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy who was fighting against Bert was even more acrobatic than Xander, and that was saying something. He couldn’t stay on the ground for more than two seconds, and he was also about twice Bert’s size. Bert was doing his very best to defend himself, but alas. The guy kicked Bert in the chest, sending him falling to the ground. “Three points!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here, baby.” Evelyn helped Bert off of the ground with a smile, congratulating him. “You did so well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Robby watched Evelyn interacting with Bert, that’s when he truly fell for her. Sure, he’d been into her for months. She was, as his father would put it, a hot babe. But this? This was absolutely different. Whenever he looked at her, he felt something that he’d never felt for any girl in his entire life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To say that he had issues with commitment wouldn’t be an overstatement. Back at his old high school, he dated this girl for six months. He thought that it wasn’t serious, but one day she told him that she loved him. So, Robby ghosted her. This was something that he wasn’t particularly proud of. But with Evelyn, he couldn’t see something like that happening. If they were dating for six months and she said that she loved him… for the first time in his life, he could see himself saying it back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s give it up for all our competitors!” The announcer said. “You’re all winners. We’ve seen some great fighting, haven’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd cheered, Evelyn smiling brightly as she clapped. She wondered where Aisha went, but figured that whatever it was was important. “There can only be one true winner, and he is standing on this stage right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will it be Miguel Diaz, from Cobra Kai Karate?” Miguel bowed to the audience, who clapped excitedly for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go, Miguel!” Evelyn cheered, earning her a nod from him. He was very obviously in performance mode, and nothing could shake him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will it be Hawk…” He stared at the notecard in confusion. “Well, I guess it’s just ‘Hawk’ from Cobra Kai Karate?” Evelyn clapped again, noticing the look on Demetri’s face. He looked super annoyed, probably at them announcing him as Hawk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will it be Robby Keene, unaffiliated?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was the only person who was actually cheering for him. Everyone else was just clapping politely. Miguel noticed this, and shot her a dirty look. She didn’t care, though. All she could see was Robby looking at her. “Go, Robby!” Even though he’d beaten her in the quarterfinals, he was still her friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This earned her a wink from him. A now very flushed Evelyn figured that two could play at that game, so she tilted her head up and blew him a quick kiss. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now look who’s blushing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought with a smirk. Robby’s eyes went wide, and she saw his lip twitch in an attempt to hide his smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And last but certainly not least, last year’s champion, fighting out of Topanga Karate, Xander Stone!” Xander didn’t just bow like everyone else. He did some fancy gymnastics moves that Evelyn could never even dream of trying, smoothly grabbing the microphone out of the announcer’s hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wanted to say, even though I love to fight, we all need to fight together against hatred.” Evelyn thought that his speech was fascinating, but his words were just washing over her head. Robby was still staring at her, and she was smiling right back at him. And, Miguel was still watching the two of them interact, looking pissed off. In his mind, first Robby Keene had made Sam break up with him, and now Evelyn was turning on Cobra Kai because of him. Evelyn wasn’t, though. She was just supporting her friend. Miguel conveniently was forgetting the part where she was the loudest person cheering for him, too. It was just more prominent with Robby because he had nobody else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And as I look around this arena, I pray for every race, religion, and gender that we can all live together in peace. Please join me in a moment of silence as we strive to end intolerance in our time.” Evelyn thought his speech was definitely a little performative, but it was nice that he was saying it. Of course she participated in the moment of silence, but she clearly noticed that her sensei and Miguel were not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The announcer was clearly done with Xander talking, and used this moment of silence as an opportunity to get the microphone back. “All right! First up, Stone versus Diaz!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go, Miguel!” Evelyn cheered again, clapping excitedly. She filed back to where her sensei and Hawk were standing on the sidelines. Miguel scored two points easily, and there was one lady in the audience </span>
  <em>
    <span>(presumably Xander’s mom?)</span>
  </em>
  <span> who was yelling even louder than any of the other parents, her makeup coordinating with the color of her son’s gi. Evelyn was super proud of Miguel, though. He’d been training the longest out of everybody, and he was the one out of them who she felt deserved it the most. For him, and for her sensei. Her sensei had always been there for her, even when nobody else was. She was beyond indebted to him, and very grateful for the time that he put into helping make her who she was today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was really proud of the person that she was today. Even though she lost, she still fought with integrity, keeping her head up at every turn. She didn’t fight dirty, she didn’t cheat, she didn’t get upset when she lost. She was a Cobra Kai, but before she was that, she was herself. “Come on, Miguel!” Evelyn shouted when the next point started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xander and Miguel started to circle each other, Miguel looking significantly more grounded than Xander. Which, of course, made sense. Xander kept doing really acrobatic moves that stressed Evelyn out. She wanted Miguel to win the tournament, but more than that, she didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Evelyn watched Miguel block one of these acrobatic moves, kicking Xander in the chest and sending him to the ground. Evelyn gasped loudly, jumping up and down once she realized what that meant. “Winner!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They shook hands, bowed to each other, and then Miguel walked off to join the rest of the Cobras. “Miguel, you’re in the freaking finals!” Evelyn squealed, pulling him into a hug. “I’m so proud of you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Ev.” He patted her back, a smile coming across his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Next up, Hawk versus Keene.” This was a significantly more difficult fight for Evelyn, since she really didn’t know who to cheer for. Sure, she was a Cobra Kai, but it was also Robby. Evelyn wanted him to win, too, but for very different reasons than she wanted Miguel to win. She wanted him to win so that he could prove to everyone that you didn’t need an army to win. Just one good person. She decided to cheer whenever anyone scored a point. That way everyone felt loved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Boy, did she have no idea what was coming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk jumped onto the mat, trying to intimidate Robby even before they started fighting. But, it didn’t work. They were exchanging words that Evelyn couldn’t hear, but she could see that Robby wasn’t scared. He was ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They bowed to the referee, bowed to each other, and then started to fight. Evelyn spent the entirety of their first point just trying to gauge Robby’s fighting style. It was grounded, strong, yet somehow acrobatic and graceful. Almost like a dancer. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe he was Dirty Dancing Swayze</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought, with a grin. A lot of the way that he moved was like someone who had dance training, like her. Until Hawk grabbed Robby, flipped him onto the ground, and punched him in the shoulder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn winced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby got back into fighting positions, but both Evelyn and Mr. LaRusso noticed that he was unfocused. But, unlike Evelyn, he decided to do something about it. “Remember what you learned, Robby!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, that’s really great coming from someone who threw him out. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But, apparently it worked. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, regaining his focus before opening his eyes. As the point started, this was absolutely a different fighting style. Somehow even more grounded than the last time, it was absolutely incredible. Robby kicked Hawk in the face, earning him the point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk walked over to him, seething from his loss. They started exchanging words that Evelyn couldn’t hear, but she could see the look on both of their faces. Robby was proud of himself for scoring a point, and she was a million times prouder of him. The way that he looked as he was fighting? That was something that Evelyn was seriously considering asking him to teach her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Robby turned to walk away and get back in fighting positions, Hawk ran over and kicked him in the shoulder. “HEY!” Evelyn yelled, sprinting towards Robby. She didn’t care about the fact that she was still technically a member of Cobra Kai, the dojo that he was competing against. She didn’t care that Hawk was her friend and dojo-mate, and she should be showing loyalty to him instead. All she cared about was that someone hurt Robby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough!” The referee said to Hawk. “You’re disqualified for illegal contact.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“BULLSHIT!” Hawk raged, storming away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“BULLSHIT? THAT’S BULLSHIT?” Evelyn shouted at Hawk, while helping Robby off of the ground gently. “YOU GETTING </span>
  <em>
    <span>DISQUALIFIED</span>
  </em>
  <span> IS BULLSHIT? YOU ASSHOLE, I SWEAR TO-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn, I’m okay.” Robby’s voice was quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Evelyn stopped yelling at Hawk as she looked at Robby, concern for him replacing the anger that she was feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to speak, but he got cut off by the referee approaching. “Back on your side, miss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped, the protective anger instantly rekindling. “Nobody gets to tell me what to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t ask again.” The referee warned her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sensei put a hand on her shoulder. “Come back. They’ll kick you out of the building if you don’t. It’s not worth it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re worried about me getting kicked out of the building? That’s what you’re worried about? So you’re okay with this? You’re okay with what Hawk did? Look at him!” Evelyn gestured to a very pained Robby, now furious with both Hawk and her sensei. She could not believe that he was actually okay with what Hawk did. Not after he hurt Robby, who looked two seconds away from falling back to the ground, his shoulder clearly out of place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not okay with-” Her sensei stopped himself. “Just come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evelyn, I’m okay. Please.” Robby reassured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if you say so. If you’re actually okay, I’ll stop.” Evelyn said gently, finally turning her gaze away from her sensei, all the fire instantly leaving it as she looked at Robby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m okay,” he affirmed, lying straight through his teeth. He was very much not okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn let herself get hauled back to the Cobra Kai side by her sensei, but she was still thoroughly pissed off. She knew that she was making a scene, but again, she didn’t care. She would make an even bigger scene if it meant that nothing like that happened again. There were rules for a reason, preventing people from getting hurt. Seriously hurt. Like what just happened to Robby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell was that?” Sensei asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She whirled around to face him. “You mean me caring about my friend? Am I not allowed to do that? I didn’t know that heartlessness was in the description when I signed up for karate, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sensei</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But I guess I was wrong. No mercy, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If it were any other student who talked to him like that, he would’ve thrown them out of the building himself. But, her sensei knew that she was angry, and he understood. He was just as mad at Hawk as she was. “di Angelo, stop. I don’t want you to not care about Robby. I want you to act like part of the team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really know if I want to be part of a team that does shit like that. Where is Hawk, anyways? I wanna have a few </span>
  <em>
    <span>words </span>
  </em>
  <span>with him.” Evelyn seethed, scanning the crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to go beat up Hawk. Sit down.” He pointed at the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-” She protested, but he pointed back to the wall. Evelyn glared at him, before obliging and sitting down. She still really wanted to go find Hawk, but she figured that at least she could watch the finals from there. Miguel versus Robby… that was going to be an interesting match. Especially after their last confrontation, which ended in Miguel getting dumped. She hoped more than anything that their fight would be more civil than what Hawk just did, but she doubted it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With that disqualification, Keene earns a trip to the finals!” The referee announced. Evelyn watched sadly as Robby walked away, holding his shoulder. “We’ll see him back here after a short break.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Miguel had finally stopped talking to a still-furious Hawk, and walked over to her. “You just ran over there. You’re supposed to be one of us. Not on his side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t try me right now, Miguel. Not right now. I don’t want to say anything to you that I’ll regret.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Miguel challenged her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rose right up to the challenge, spewing words that she’d been holding inside since that last weekend. “Like that you’re being a jackass! The way that you acted at the party was so freaking ridiculous, and now you’re soothing Hawk’s poor little hurt feelings, because he’s the one who needs it right now. Not the person who’s currently…” She scanned the room, looking for Robby, but he was gone. “Not Robby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even get me started on your precious </span>
  <em>
    <span>Robby</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Miguel said, mocking her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my God.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “What’s your problem with him, anyways? He’s done literally nothing to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s the reason that Sam broke up with me!” Miguel shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? You REALLY think that? He’s not the reason that Sam broke up with you. The reason that Sam broke up with you is because you hit her, idiot!” Evelyn could hardly believe her ears. In what universe was it Robby’s fault that Sam broke up with him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev?” Sam heard her yelling at him, and walked over to the pair. “What’s going-” She immediately stopped once she noticed Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Sam,” he said quietly. "Can we talk?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t even say another word, and just started to walk away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam, please.” Miguel went after her, leaving Evelyn behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Great. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Evelyn still felt bad for causing another scene, but she didn’t regret a single word that she said to Miguel. He was being a jackass, and Robby definitely wasn’t the reason that Sam broke up with him. The reason that Sam broke up with him is because he’s acting like a bully, a new person. Someone that as hard as Evelyn tried, she couldn’t recognize. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She missed the Miguel who used karate for good, the Miguel who used it to stand up to Kyler and the rest of the bullies in the cafeteria. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t miss the Miguel who had become one of the bullies.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>All Valley Pt 2!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWORKED! on 4/27/2021, i combined what was previously chapter 12 with this chapter to form one mega-chapter. every subsequent chapter has been moved up one number. no plot or wording was changed whatsoever.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn was sitting against the wall where her sensei left her, still beyond pissed. But, she wanted to see Robby more than she wanted to seethe. She walked out of the arena, and saw him sitting on a bench in the hallway. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>She glanced over at his shoulder, sitting down next to him. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>“I’m feeling alright.” He definitely wasn’t feeling alright, given that his shoulder was dislocated, but he was feeling as alright as he was going to get. Especially now that he was talking to her.</p><p>“Do you feel ready for the finals?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>He nodded. “I’m as ready as I’m gonna get.”</p><p>“I’m always cheering for you, okay?” As their eyes met, he could instantly tell that she was being completely sincere. She was his biggest (and sometimes his only) cheerleader.</p><p>“You’re cheering for me to win over your own team?” </p><p>“I’m on your team. Not the team of the people who hurt you.” She smiled at him, sending flares shooting through his stomach.</p><p>Robby sighed a deep sigh of frustration. “God. Ev, what are we doing here?” He didn’t have a clue what he was going to say. All he knew was that he couldn’t deal with this anymore. He couldn’t deal with her sitting next to him and reassuring him that she was on his team, pretending that they were just friends. Pretending like that was all that they were meant to be.</p><p>“I don’t know.” She replied, knowing even less about what he was going to say. “What do you want to be doing here?”</p><p>Robby thought for a second, and made a decision. It was finally time for him to make a move. If not now, when? “What I should want, or what I really want?”</p><p>“What you really want.” Evelyn affirmed. She was really hoping that this conversation was going in the direction that she wanted it to, but she didn’t know for sure. They’d been dancing around each other for months, saying things, but never making anything official, which was what she wanted. </p><p>“I really want to kiss you.” His eye contact was making her head spin, hypnotizing her into her next words. </p><p>“Then why don’t you?” </p><p>Robby didn’t wait a moment longer before leaning in. The feeling of his lips finally on hers sent her reeling, almost making her forget how to kiss him back. But, thankfully for her, she quickly remembered, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in closer, making sure to avoid touching his injured shoulder.</p><p>There were three months worth of emotions built up in that first kiss, something that both of them had just about given up hope of happening. He truly could’ve stayed there forever, kissing her in the back hallway of the building, wholly and completely oblivious to the fact that her sensei could see them, forever. Robby was the one to finally pull away, feeling slightly awkward. “I should… I should probably go. The finals are about to start.”</p><p>She was definitely feeling a little awkward, too, but she was mostly stunned by the fact that he’d finally kissed her. “You go win this, okay?”</p><p>Robby reached for her face with his good arm, pulled her in close, and kissed her one more time. “I will.”</p><p>Evelyn just about fainted as she watched him walk away, making her extra glad that she was already sitting down. Her sensei told her that deep breathing and meditation and all of that was ‘hippie shit,’ but it definitely came in handy in a moment like this. After a few minutes of trying not to pass out, she brushed some nonexistent dirt off of her gi, and walked back towards the arena. </p><p>She had absolutely no idea what this meant for her and Robby’s ‘friendship,’ but she did know deep down that things had changed. She had no idea if they were actually going to talk about it, if that conversation had been solely postponed because of the tournament, or if they were going to talk about it at all. <em> God, this is exhausting. </em> Evelyn thought as she came back inside, and found Aisha. She quickly pulled her off to the side and into the hallway. “Aisha, you’re never going to believe what just happened,” she said, everything coming out in one gasp.</p><p>“Ev, slow down.” Aisha grabbed both of her arms under her shoulders, trying to calm her down. “What happened?”</p><p>“Robby and I just kissed. He just kissed me. Twice.” Evelyn said extremely slowly, still trying not to pass out or ramble. </p><p>“HE KISSED YOU?” Aisha exclaimed.</p><p>“Shut up! Do you want the entire building to hear?” Evelyn hissed through her teeth, eyes darting around to see who may have heard. “But yes, he kissed me.”</p><p>Aisha looked aghast, but the smile on her face was almost as big as Evelyn’s. “Took you two idiots long enough! So, are you dating now?”</p><p>Evelyn shrugged. “That’s a great question. He’s off doing tournament stuff right now, so we never got a chance to talk about it.”</p><p>Aisha’s head dropped, and she started laughing. “Next you’re gonna tell me that you think kissing him was just because you’re friends.”</p><p>“I’m not <em> that </em>oblivious,” Evelyn protested.</p><p>“Aren’t you, though? Aren’t you?” Aisha truly was the only one with common sense in their group of friends.</p><p>“Okay, fine.” Evelyn started to laugh, too. “Maybe I am. But it’s fine, because we’re here now.”</p><p>“So how was it?” Aisha asked.</p><p>Evelyn looked confused. “How was what?”</p><p>“Kissing him,” she clarified.</p><p>Evelyn’s confused look was quickly replaced by a dreamy one. “You know how people always talk about fireworks when you kiss someone?” Aisha nodded. “I’m pretty sure I know what that feels like now.”</p><p>“I would normally say that that’s gross, but I’m actually really happy for you.” Aisha admitted. “You’ve been after each other since March. Glad one of you finally made a move.”</p><p>“I’m glad, too.” Evelyn heard voices coming from inside the arena, and realized what was happening. “The finals are about to start. Are you ready to go back in?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Aisha and Evelyn started walking back inside. “So, are you cheering for your boyfriend or for Miguel?”</p><p>Evelyn immediately proceeded to ignore the ‘boyfriend’ comment. She didn’t know if Robby was actually her boyfriend, and she really didn’t want to get into that with Aisha. “I’ll be happy either way.”</p><p>“Liar.”</p><p>“Yeah,” she admitted. “You’re right. I do want Robby to win, but I also know that Miguel winning would mean a lot to Sensei.”</p><p>“It’s a win-win for you, then. If Robby wins, then he’ll be happy, and if he loses then you can always make him feel better.” Aisha smirked.</p><p>“AISHA ROBINSON.” Evelyn gasped, wholly mortified.</p><p>“I meant kissing, perv.” Aisha teased her. “You’ve got a dirty mind.”</p><p>Evelyn was definitely still flustered. “Don’t you try and turn this on me! You’re the one with the dirty mind. I didn’t even say what I was thinking.”</p><p>“Uh huh. Whatever you say, Ev.”</p><p>“Shut up.” Evelyn glared at her, pushing the door open and walking back inside. The lights were dimmed, and everything seemed super dramatic. She quickly noticed Robby standing alone on one side of the mat, and she filed next to Aisha on the other side. The side that was supposed to be cheering for Miguel. Evelyn quite honestly felt like a double agent, but she didn’t really care.</p><p>“This is it, folks! The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The final match to determine who will be victor and champion.” He held his arm out towards where Miguel was standing. “Will it be Miguel Diaz, from Cobra Kai Karate?” Evelyn pointedly didn’t clap. Not after how Miguel was acting earlier.</p><p>“Will it be Robby Keene, unaffil-” He was stopped by a woman running up to him, and whispering in his ear. Evelyn glanced over at Robby, wondering exactly what was going on. Was he ineligible or something? “Daniel LaRusso’s gonna coach?” Evelyn heard him say quietly. A big smile broke across her face. Apparently Mr. LaRusso came around, and realized that Robby had changed. Just because he did bad things in the past didn’t mean that he was a bad person. </p><p>“DANIEL LARUSSO IS GONNA COACH!” The announcer shouted excitedly. “I’m sorry, folks. There’s been a change. Robby Keene will now be fighting for Miyagi-Do Karate, with former champion Daniel LaRusso as his sensei! How about that?” Evelyn wasn’t the only person on Robby’s team anymore, but he couldn’t care less about all of those other people. She was the only person whose opinion mattered to him.</p><p>“Alright, senseis. Take your corners.” Evelyn glanced over at Miguel, who still looked really pissed off. The words that he was saying to their sensei clearly weren’t good, and they put a lot of fear in her heart about what was about to happen. Miguel had already tried to hit Robby and Sam at the party. Who knew what lengths he would go to now that there was a trophy on the line?</p><p>“Face me. Bow.” Robby and Miguel both bowed to the referee, Evelyn noticing immediately that Miguel’s was significantly quicker than Robby’s. He clearly didn’t care about showing respect anymore. He just cared about winning.</p><p>“Face each other. Bow.” If Evelyn thought that Miguel didn’t care about showing respect to the referee, he cared even less about showing respect to Robby. While she didn’t know it yet, that was a clear indicator of what was about to happen.</p><p>“Fighting positions.” The referee held his hand out between them. “Ready? Fight!”</p><p>Miguel, as he was taught, immediately struck first, surging towards Robby in a flurry of fists. Robby dodged all of his punches, scoring the point quickly with a spinning kick that made Evelyn’s dancer heart shine. “Yes!” Evelyn hissed quietly, trying to hide her excitement that Robby was winning.</p><p>“Keene and Miyagi-Do get the first point.” Miguel got back up off of the ground, looking even more pissed than he was initially. </p><p>“Remember the pitching machine!” Sensei called to him. “Don’t get hit.”</p><p>“Ready? And fight!” The referee removed his hand from in between the two of them, sending Miguel immediately back towards Robby. He threw a fan kick towards Miguel, who ducked under it, kicking Robby in the shoulder instead, and then punching him once again in the stomach, even though he’d already taken the point.</p><p>“Hey! What the hell’s that?” Evelyn protested, earning her a glare from her sensei. The rest of the Cobra Kais glanced at her sideways, while cheering on Miguel. Sure, Evelyn wanted Cobra Kai to win. But she really didn’t want to win by fighting dirty.</p><p>“Diaz and Cobra Kai with the point.” The announcer said. “Now it’s 1-1.”</p><p>She could clearly tell that Robby was hurting, which was making her hurt, too. Evelyn could barely believe how Miguel was acting. They’d been trained the same way, but she would never do something like that. </p><p>“Ready? And fight!” The referee removed his hand again, causing Miguel to strike first once again. Some things were very predictable, and his fighting attitude was absolutely one of those things. Robby started blocking Miguel’s punches, but missed one that connected directly with his shoulder. Miguel dropped down, sweeping Robby’s legs out from under him before punching him in the shoulder one more time.</p><p>Evelyn was so mad that she could hardly speak as she watched Robby clutch at his shoulder in pain. Were the referees really going to let Miguel get away with continuing to attack Robby’s shoulder? Was her <em> sensei </em>really going to let him get away with that? The announcer’s voice came over the speakers again. “That makes it two points for Diaz.” </p><p>“Time!” Mr. LaRusso came onto the mat, holding his hand up in a T shape. </p><p>Miguel looked incredulous at the idea of stopping, shoving the referee away as he tried to escort Miguel back to his side. Evelyn’s eyes were locked on Miguel, and she looked furious. He quickly noticed her fury, shooting her a glare to match. “What, Ev? You switching sides?” </p><p>She didn’t even dignify that with a response. She just rolled her eyes, switching her gaze, not her loyalties, over to where Robby was. He was kneeling on the ground in front of his sensei, his hand still holding on tight to his dislocated shoulder. Whatever words that they were exchanging must’ve helped, since Robby nodded once before getting up.</p><p>“Fighting positions!” Robby’s eyes were shut tightly, his left arm crossed in front of him, braced against his side. “Ready? And fight!”</p><p>Neither of them struck for an instant, both of them carefully calculating their next move. Miguel’s next move was to try and kick Robby, a kick that was immediately blocked. There was a new intensity on Robby’s face, something that Evelyn had never seen before, but something that she definitely was a fan of. She was a Cobra Kai at heart, so she appreciated badassery. She normally wouldn’t call Miyagi-Do badass, but in that moment, it definitely was. There was a blur of fists, Miguel unrelenting until Robby somehow got him out of bounds. “Stop!” The referee shouted, helping Miguel back to his spot. “No point. Out of bounds.” <em> Come on, Robby. </em> Evelyn thought desperately, still trying to keep her Cobra facade intact.</p><p>“Ready?” They got back into position. “And fight!”</p><p>Miguel instantly rushed towards Robby, pushing him to the ground, before kicking him in the shoulder. Evelyn barely had any time to react before Robby rolled over, and kicked Miguel in the chest with both of his legs. Miguel fell to the ground, Evelyn’s heart fluttering as she noticed the look on Robby’s face. <em> God, he looks so hot. </em> She thought dreamily, watching him offer his hand to Miguel. But, instead of accepting the help, Miguel grabbed Robby's hurt arm and yanked. Robby fell to the ground, clearly in pain.</p><p>And that, right there? That was the last straw. Evelyn stormed over to her sensei, steam coming from out of her ears. “I’m done. No more of this- this bullying. Hurting people. I quit.”</p><p>Miguel ran over to her. “Ev, what are you doing?”</p><p>“Oh, I think you heard me, Miguel.” Evelyn was already upset, and Miguel getting involved was not making her feel any better</p><p>“You can't quit Cobra Kai!” He said incredulously.</p><p>“<em> Too late </em>.” She practically spat her last words. Evelyn took off her headband, threw it at Miguel's feet, and walked away.</p><p>“Ev!” Miguel called after her, but it was too late. He reached down and picked up her headband, holding it gingerly. "Come back here!"</p><p>“Screw you, asshole!” She flipped him off with both hands, not looking back. Evelyn was done with Miguel, and done with Cobra Kai.</p><p>Moon turned to Demetri. “She's your sister, right? Shouldn't you do something?”</p><p>Demetri was embarrassed by Evelyn's display of emotions. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen her before.” </p><p>Moon side-eyed him. “Fine. I'll go.”</p><p>Evelyn was still walking. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't bear to be in that building anymore. The person who was just fighting Robby was not the boy that she met in English class. The Miguel Diaz that she knew would never treat another person the way that he just treated Robby. The Miguel Diaz that she knew would never <em> hit Sam </em>. Clearly, the Miguel Diaz that she knew was gone. Her knees gave out, and she slid down the side of the wall, mentally and physically exhausted. She sat there, still wearing her Cobra Kai gi, until she heard a voice.</p><p>Moon’s voice was gentle. “Hey.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Moon. You shouldn’t have to see me like this,” she said.</p><p>Moon sat down next to Evelyn, and turned to face her. “Don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”</p><p>“I’m fine.” Evelyn looked away, embarrassed. Had she really just caused a scene in front of the entire dojo, and all of the people watching?</p><p>“You’re clearly not fine.” </p><p>“I’m pissed, okay?” Evelyn burst out. She took a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully. “I don’t know what happened to Miguel. He used to be one of my best friends, but I don’t want to be friends with whoever that was.”</p><p>“He’s been really hostile lately, hasn’t he?” Moon remarked.</p><p>“He injured Robby’s shoulder even more when Robby was just trying to help him up! The way that Miguel and Hawk acted today makes me <em> sick </em>. They just kept targeting Robby for no good reason! I know you and Hawk are together, but he needs to chill.” Evelyn felt bad for talking about Hawk to Moon, but she was right. He did need to chill.</p><p>“Are you upset because Miguel and Hawk were targeting someone, or because they were targeting Robby?” Moon was way smarter than people gave her credit for. She had a way with understanding emotions that Evelyn just couldn't explain.</p><p>“Both.” Evelyn admitted. “It just… It feels like I don’t recognize Miguel anymore. I'm done with him, and I’m done with karate.”</p><p>“That’s just fine. You have to follow your own path. If karate isn’t making you happy anymore, you don’t need to stay.” Moon said, her voice still gentle. “Are you ready to come back inside, or do you want to go? I’ll cover for you if you want to leave.”</p><p>“I’ll go back in, for Robby. I have to change first, though.” Evelyn stood up, waved goodbye, and started walking towards the locker rooms. Thankfully she'd brought a change of clothes.</p><p>She finished changing, and walked out of the room, leaving her still-beautiful black gi folded neatly on the bench. Evelyn was wearing a pair of blue jean shorts, a striped t-shirt, and black Converse high tops. </p><p>As Evelyn walked back into the arena, she saw Miguel celebrating with the rest of Cobra Kai, holding a trophy triumphantly above his head. Her heart sank, and she frantically searched the rest of the room for Robby. She saw him bow to Miguel and walk away, clutching his shoulder. His little bow brought a smile to Evelyn's face. Despite all that Miguel put him through, he was still being a good sport.</p><p>She strode over to where Robby was talking to Mr. L. “Hey, Robby.”</p><p>He immediately looked away from his sensei at the sound of her voice. “Ev. Hi.”</p><p>"I’m gonna leave you two alone." Mr. L smiled knowingly, picking up on the energy between them, too. Something they were now pretending did exist. “You did so well, Robby. I’m very proud of you.”</p><p>Robby's face lit up at Mr. L’s words. It was almost as if nobody had ever said they were proud of him before.</p><p>“Is your shoulder okay?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“It'll be fine. I should probably go get checked out one more time, though.”</p><p>She was still really worried, but he didn't sound concerned at all. So, Evelyn tried to be chill, something she was not particularly great at. “Sounds good. Am I still your ride?” He nodded, and started walking with her to where the medic was standing. “If you want, we can hang out instead of me just taking you back.”</p><p>Robby smiled at Evelyn. “I'd love that.” </p><p>“I have to take Demetri home, too, but he can sit in the back. <em> Demetri </em>wasn't the one who came in second place today!” She nudged his good arm playfully. “I'm proud of you too, Robby. You fought really well.”</p><p>“So did you! That Xander guy was no joke.” He stopped walking suddenly, looking confused. “Wait. Shouldn't you be celebrating with the rest of your dojo?”</p><p>Evelyn laughed. “You didn't see me quit? It was very dramatic.”</p><p>“<em> You quit Cobra Kai? </em>” He asked incredulously.</p><p>“Yeah. I don't want to be associated with any of those jerks anymore. Especially not Miguel.” If looks could kill, the glare that Evelyn shot at Miguel would've incinerated him.</p><p>“I thought you were friends.” Robby said.</p><p>“Not after the way he treated you and Sam.” She shook her head. “I tried to ignore what he was doing, and then I tried to defend him, but that guy that you were fighting today was not the same person that I befriended nine months ago.”</p><p>“I'm sorry, Ev.” He meant that. Even though Miguel had just dislocated Robby's shoulder, Evelyn seemed sad, and he didn't want that.</p><p>“It's not your fault.” They finally reached the medic, who motioned to lead Robby to one of the other locker rooms. Evelyn hung back, hesitant about whether she should go with him. “You go. I'll meet you back here when you're done.” She said with a smile, waving him on.</p><p>“Can you come with me?” He replied, giving her the signature Robby Keene pout. Which worked every time. She nodded, following him to the locker room. He walked inside, and sat on one of the benches, still holding his arm.</p><p>The medic stood in front of Robby, ready to help. “Can you remove your shirt so I can get a better look?” He did, and Evelyn just about died when she caught a glance. Thankfully for her, she managed to turn the gasp that came out of her mouth at the sight of him into a cough. “I’ll- I’ll go. You’re… uh. Indisposed.” She said, turning to walk out of the locker room.</p><p>“Stay. Please.” Robby patted the spot right next to him on the bench.</p><p>Evelyn obliged, and sat next to him. Robby reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly. “You gonna be okay over there?” </p><p>He grimaced as the medic started poking around his shoulder. “Could be better.” She had an idea, actually inspired by Aisha. She leaned over, placing a kiss on his cheek. Robby smiled for just an instant, until the pain returned. “You should do that again. It helps.” As she leaned back over, he turned his head slightly so that her lips met his.</p><p>She kissed him back for just an instant, before breaking away. “I’m not kissing you in front of the medic.”</p><p>“Whatever you want, princess.” He said, smirking at her.</p><p>The medic cleared her throat, breaking some of the tension. “Well, your shoulder looks just fine. You’re going to have to wear this sling for a few weeks, but you’re good to go. I’m just gonna… leave you two alone.” She handed Robby the sling, and then walked out of the locker room.</p><p>“What are we doing here, Robby?” Evelyn asked, repeating the question that he’d asked her earlier. “Is this something?”</p><p>He smiled softly at her. “It’s whatever you want it to be. What do you want?” </p><p>“I want you,” she admitted. “I want us to be something.”</p><p>“Well, luckily for you, I can make that happen.” There was a big smile on her face as he leaned back in. Now that she had him there with her, she was never going to let him go. Not ever.</p><p>They had both kissed other people before, but nothing was like this. This was different than anything she could ever have imagined, different than anything that she could have dreamed of. Evelyn had read a lot of books in her life. Growing up with Demetri, she always had to find something to one-up him about, and that was reading books. She’d read a lot of words in her life, but as she tried to describe kissing Robby in her head, no words could possibly be enough.</p><p>There were absolutely no words to describe how she was feeling as his lips met hers, settling into a gentle rhythm of mutual adoration. There were no words to describe how he felt as she held his face, her thumbs brushing across his flushed cheeks. There were no words to describe how much they cared about each other, to describe how badly each of them had wanted to do this since the very first day that they met.</p><p>There were also no words to describe the pure humiliation that they both felt as a familiar voice spoke up. Of all the things Demetri expected to see that day, his sister kissing a still shirtless Robby Keene was definitely not one of them. “Really, Ev? A locker room? You can’t even get him to take you someplace nice?”</p><p>She immediately broke away from Robby, her face bright red as she turned to face her brother. “Hi, Demetri.”</p><p>“You didn’t even make him buy you dinner first. I thought you had standards.” Demetri looked so disappointed in her. “And shirtless? Really?”</p><p>“To be fair, the shirt was already off when I kissed him.” Evelyn said, as Robby awkwardly put his shirt back on, and then the sling, wincing slightly as he had to move his shoulder. “What are you doing here, anyways?”</p><p>“I was just coming to tell you that Mr. L is looking for Robby. They have his second place trophy,” Demetri said. “Someone said that I would find you back here. They conveniently forgot to mention that you weren’t alone.” </p><p>“Oh.” Evelyn started to laugh out of continued humiliation. “That’s exciting.”</p><p>Demetri’s continued look of disgust was replaced by a gleeful one when he realized exactly what he could do with this new information. “I’m totally telling Mom.”</p><p>Her laughter abruptly stopped, eyes widening. “Please don’t tell Mom.”</p><p>“I’m telling Mom that I caught you kissing your half-naked boyfriend in the locker room,” Demetri teased, starting to walk out of said locker room.</p><p>Evelyn scrambled off of the bench, running after him. “PLEASE DON’T TELL HER THAT. DEMETRI, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”</p><p>Robby smiled as he watched Evelyn sprint after her brother, almost falling over as she turned the corner. She definitely wasn’t the most coordinated person (which was surprising, considering her dance training), but she was perfect for him. To him, she was absolutely perfect.</p><p>Evelyn found Demetri after chasing him practically through the entire building. Robby had gone to ask his sensei for a ride instead, figuring that it was a good idea if he wasn’t in the same car as both Evelyn and Demetri for a little while. “Hey.” Evelyn was slightly out of breath as she finally managed to catch up to him.</p><p>“Hey.” Demetri said. “So, I’ve decided that I’m not going to tell Mom right now.”</p><p>Evelyn knew that there was a caveat. “You want something. What is it?”</p><p>“I want you to come with me to the Cobra Kai victory party and be nice to Miguel and Hawk.” Demetri admitted.</p><p>She instantly shook her head. Being nice to Miguel was definitely not on the table after what he just did to Robby. “That’s not gonna happen.”</p><p>“Do you want me to tell Mom?” He asked, knowing that his threat would work. “Because I can.”</p><p>Evelyn shot him a death glare. “I hate you.”</p><p>“No, you don’t.” Demetri smiled at her, and the duo started walking to her car. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Demetri decided to break it. “So, how long have you and Robby been together?”</p><p>She smiled at the memory. “He kissed me for the first time right before the finals.” </p><p>“Oh, wow. You move fast, then.” He teased her. </p><p>“Don’t judge me.” Evelyn protested. “Just because you can’t get someone to kiss you doesn’t mean that I have to stop in solidarity.”</p><p>“You sound like Ginny from <em> Half Blood Prince </em>.” Demetri pointed out.</p><p>“And you sound like Ron, which in that situation is not a compliment,” she retorted.</p><p>He rolled his eyes. “Very funny.”</p><p>“So why do you want me to come with you so badly?” Evelyn asked. “Putting Miguel and I in the same building may not be the best idea.”</p><p>“Hawk asked me to come. While you and Robby were-” he shuddered at the memory of what he’d witnessed. “He asked me to come to their victory party. I wanted you to come with me so that stuff wouldn’t be awkward between all of us.”</p><p>“Hawk asked you?” Evelyn asked. She could tell how much the friction between Demetri and Hawk was affecting her brother, and she was super glad that they’d started to make up. “That’s great.”</p><p>Demetri nodded happily, deciding that it was time for him to be a little sincere with her. “I’m happy for you and Robby, Ev. I can see how happy he makes you. As long as I don’t ever have to see you two kissing again, I’m good.”</p><p>“I never want you to see that again, either.” Evelyn shuddered.</p><p>He decided to change the subject, neither of them wanting to discuss what he witnessed for a second longer. “So, are you gonna tell Mom that you and Robby are dating?”</p><p>“I will.” She promised. “Not right now, though. It’s too soon.”</p><p>“I won’t say anything to her, then.” Demetri said.</p><p>“Really?” He nodded, making her smile softly. “Wow. Thanks for being so supportive.”</p><p>Demetri shrugged. “Of course. As long as you’re this supportive when I get a girlfriend.”</p><p>“More like <em> if </em>you ever get a girlfriend.” Evelyn teased him.</p><p>“Hey!” He exclaimed, glaring at her.</p><p>“Joking.” She decided to be sincere, too. Demetri was being uncharacteristically nice, so she wanted to let him know that she was nice, too. “Of course I’ll support you, Dem. Unless it’s Yasmine. Then I don’t know what I’ll do.”</p><p>“Yasmine just hasn’t realized that she’s in love with me yet. She’s getting there, though.” Demetri said. </p><p>This prompted another eye roll from his sister. “Why Yasmine? She’s the human embodiment of evil.”</p><p>“She is not!” He protested. </p><p>“Name one interaction you’ve had with her where she’s not bullying you.” Evelyn said.</p><p>“We were in freshman biology together,” he answered. “She let me help her with her homework.”</p><p>“Demetri. Please. You could do so much better than Yasmine.”</p><p>“Like who?” Demetri asked.</p><p>Evelyn laughed. “Literally anyone is better than her. She might be pretty on the outside, but she’s definitely not pretty on the inside. I would try and set you up with someone, but I don’t know who you like.”</p><p>“Well, not all of us are as obvious as you about who we like. You like skaters with green eyes and <em> way </em>too many abs.” His nose wrinkled as he remembered the too many abs. </p><p>“At least Robby actually knows that I exist.” Evelyn pointed out. </p><p>He frowned. “Ouch.”</p><p>“Sorry.” Evelyn pulled into a parking spot right next to Hawk’s motorcycle. She hesitated for a second, glancing at Demetri to remind herself why she was there, before getting out. She followed him inside, her hesitation growing even more when she saw Moon and Aisha sitting with the two people that she’d promised to be nice to. Demetri kept going, though, walking all the way over to them. </p><p>Miguel looked up at the sound of their footsteps, completely surprised to see her. “Ev, what are you doing here?”</p><p>“I’m only here because I’m being blackmailed.” Evelyn glared at her brother. </p><p>“What do you have on her?” Aisha looked like she had an idea of what was going on, which she actually did.</p><p>“I caught her making out with Robby Keene in one of the locker rooms.” Demetri announced.</p><p>Evelyn’s face was bright red. “You said you weren’t gonna tell anyone! You’re making me seem like I have no self-respect.”</p><p>“I said I wasn’t going to tell Mom,” he corrected with a smile. “I never said I wasn’t going to tell anyone else.”</p><p>Aisha burst out into laughter. “Well, that escalated quickly. You were all fireworks and magic when he kissed you before the finals, and now-”</p><p>Miguel cut Aisha off, looking pissed. “You kissed him before the finals? Is that why you quit Cobra Kai?”</p><p>“No, Miguel. I quit because-” She noticed Demetri looking at her, and remembered what he said to her. “I’m not getting into this with you. I promised Demetri that I would be civil, and I don’t feel like I can talk to you and keep that promise. Anyways, what happens between Robby and I is none of your damn business.”</p><p>“Come on, Ev.” Miguel pleaded.</p><p>“I’m not doing this.” Evelyn scoffed at him, walking away from the table and pulling out her phone to text Robby.</p><p>
  <b>Robby 💙</b>
</p><p>Hope you wanted the entire world to know about us</p><p>What?</p><p>Demetri just told Miguel, Hawk, Aisha, and Moon<br/>So the entire world will probably know in a few hours</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Are you mad?</p><p>I’m not mad <br/>I wish I could’ve been the one to tell people but it’s okay</p><p>Yeah<br/>Idiot brother is currently blackmailing me to hang out with them and be nice<br/>I already got mad at Miguel once because he’s still being an asshole</p><p>I’m sorry you have to put up with them<br/>What happens if you leave?</p><p>He tells Mom about what he saw</p><p>Oh. That’s not good</p><p>Idk if he’s gonna follow through on that since he said some other stuff but you never know<br/>Don’t want to take any chances</p><p>Definitely<br/>I want to introduce myself to your mom as your boyfriend, not as the “half-naked guy you were kissing in the locker room,” as Demetri put it</p><p>Boyfriend?</p><p>You said that you wanted us to be something<br/>That’s what you meant, right?</p><p>That’s what I meant<br/>Is that what you want?</p><p>Yeah</p><p>Should we tell people, then?<br/>Like everyone else?</p><p>Who are you talking about?</p><p>Idk<br/>My mom’s gonna find out at some point but I’m not sure if I’m ready to put that kind of pressure on us</p><p>You can tell her if you want</p><p>What about your mom?</p><p>That’s complicated. Not something I want to explain over text</p><p>Okay</p><p>Evelyn heard a cough next to her, texting Robby a quick goodbye before looking up. She quickly realized that the cough came from Miguel, so she started walking outside. If she was going to fight with Miguel, she didn’t want to bother everyone else.</p><p>He followed her, closing the door to the restaurant behind them. “Ev, please. I really don’t want us to fight.” His eyes met hers, and she could see that he at least meant that. </p><p>“I don’t want us to fight, either, but I’m also mad at you,” Evelyn said.</p><p>Miguel instantly went on the defense. “I’m mad at you, too!”</p><p>This caused her to get defensive, too. Evelyn and Miguel had never fought like this before. Their personalities meshed well, but when they fought, it was a nightmare to behold. As the rest of their friends, who were watching through the window, were about to witness. “Why exactly are you mad at me?”</p><p>“I’m mad because you switched sides!” Miguel exclaimed. “You didn’t want Cobra Kai to win. You chose Robby over us, over <em> me </em>. You’re disloyal. Even after everything Sensei’s done for you.”</p><p>“How <em> dare </em>you stand there and call me disloyal. I’m loyal to people, Miguel. Not arbitrary concepts,” she said. “Anyways, you don’t get to talk about ‘after everything Sensei’s done for you,’ after you disrespected him today. You showed the world a different Cobra Kai than I’ve been a part of for the last nine months. You fought dirty. Really, really dirty.”</p><p>“I did what I had to do to bring home the trophy for Sensei, for Cobra Kai.” He insisted. “There’s nothing dirty about winning.”</p><p>Evelyn was beyond incredulous at how he was acting. “Do you even hear yourself? I would never treat my opponent the way that you treated Robby.”</p><p>“Yeah, because you’re a-”</p><p>Her eyes flared. “Don’t finish that sentence.”</p><p>“Wh-” The realization of what she thought dawned on him. “I wasn’t gonna say ‘because you’re a girl.’ You know that I would never say that.”</p><p>“I'm glad, but I do know that you weren’t going to say anything good.” Evelyn sighed quietly. “It’s just… I do karate because I want to be able to defend myself against bullies. Not because I wanna associate myself with them.”</p><p>“Are you seriously calling me a bully?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Are you seriously denying it?” Evelyn retorted, her eyebrow raised. “See, this is why I didn’t want to bring this up.”</p><p>“No, we should talk about it. Figure this out.” He really didn’t want to fight with Evelyn anymore. </p><p>“What is there to figure out, Miguel?” She asked. “You acted like an asshole, and you really don’t sound like you feel bad.”</p><p>“You betrayed us, and you don’t sound like you feel bad, either,” he snapped.</p><p>Her face softened, losing all emotion. “Really? Is this how it’s gonna be?”</p><p>“I guess so.” He stared her down for just a second, searching her eyes for any hint of regret about their fight, and finding none. She wasn’t going to change her mind, so neither was he. Evelyn winced, shutting her eyes tightly as Miguel stalked back inside, slamming the door behind him.</p><p>Demetri quickly noticed what happened, and came over to her. “Hey. How’d it go?”</p><p>“How do you think it went?” She bit the inside of her lip, a painful combination of hurt and angry. “He's just… different. Miguel’s gone. That person I was just talking to isn’t him. Not anymore.”</p><p>Demetri knew exactly what that felt like.</p><p>He also felt really bad, since he was the one who pushed Evelyn to talk it out with Miguel, which obviously just made things worse. “Come here.” He wasn’t really a hugger, but he knew that hugs always made Evelyn feel better when she was upset. Demetri opened his arms, and she walked right into them. Evelyn was about seven inches shorter than her brother, which meant that his head fit perfectly on top of hers, her arms wrapping tight around his waist. They definitely had their differences, and they fought sometimes, but at the end of the day, they were always there for each other.</p><p>Miguel watched sadly from inside as Demetri comforted an obviously upset Evelyn. He didn’t really feel bad about what he did, but he started to once he realized how much it was affecting her. He never wanted to hurt her. He just wanted to hurt Robby. Which, now he realized, did hurt her. He couldn’t apologize, though. It was too soon. Miguel decided that he would wait, come up with a plan, and figure out exactly how he was going to get her back in Cobra Kai, and back in his life.</p><p>Evelyn squeezed Demetri tightly, before finally pulling away. “Thanks, Dem.”</p><p>“Are you feeling any better?” He asked gently.</p><p>“Yeah.” She nodded. “I am.”</p><p>“That’s good. Do you want to leave? If you want to, we can.” Demetri normally wasn’t this genuine, but he saw how sad Evelyn was, and was trying his hardest not to make her even more upset.</p><p>“I do want to leave, but I really don’t want to mess up what’s happening with you and Hawk.”</p><p>“Him and I are okay.” Demetri said, only mostly lying to her. They were making progress, but they definitely weren’t back to where they used to be. “We can go.”</p><p>“You know, when you’re not blackmailing me, you’re a good brother.” Evelyn said, glancing one last time at Miguel before following Demetri back to her car.</p><p>He smiled at her, putting on his seatbelt and letting her take him back home.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>“Hey, Mom?” It had been two weeks since the All Valley, and Evelyn decided that it was time for her mom to know that she was dating Robby. If not only because she still didn’t trust Demetri to keep her secret.</p><p>Marie glanced up from her book, gently setting it back down on the coffee table. “Yeah? What’s going on?”</p><p>“I have something to tell you.” Evelyn admitted, hands starting to shake slightly. She knew that her mom would probably be okay with it, but it was still nerve-wracking. Especially if her mom found out that she’d been hiding the truth for two weeks.</p><p>“Is it that you’re dating Robby Keene?” Marie asked.</p><p>Evelyn’s eyes widened. “How’d… did Demetri tell you?”</p><p>“Demetri didn’t tell me. I figured it out.” Marie smiled at her. “You talk about him differently than you used to, and I also heard you saying something to Sam on the phone last week.”</p><p>“You’ve known for a week, and haven’t said anything?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“I knew that you were going to tell me when you were ready, and I was right.” Marie replied. “I’m really happy for you, Evelyn.”</p><p>Evelyn beamed. “Thanks, Mom.”</p><p>“I do want to meet him, though. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, but I would like it to be soon.” Marie said.</p><p>“I’ll talk to him, but I’m pretty sure that I can make that happen.” Evelyn pulled out her phone, asking permission from her mom before calling Robby. He picked up on the third ring. “Hey, babe.”</p><p>“Hey.” Evelyn couldn’t see Robby’s smile, but it was the same one that came over his face every time he got a call from her. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“I just told my mom about us, and she wants to meet you,” she said.</p><p>Robby was very quiet for a while. “Oh.”</p><p>“Is that a bad thing? She doesn’t bite.” Evelyn reassured him.</p><p>“Moms don’t like me very much.” This was an understatement. Robby’s former extracurricular activities of stealing and selling drugs definitely weren’t the things that got you brought home to meet the parents.</p><p>“You can be charming when you want to be. I have faith in you.” Her words sent a lightning bolt through his heart, making him realize that it was finally time to tell her what he’d been hiding for so long.</p><p>“Ev, I have to tell you something.” Robby knew that telling her what he was about to over the phone was kind of a cop out, but he was really afraid of what her reaction was going to be. They’d finally breached the subject of parents. The one he’d been trying to avoid since he found out that she was in Cobra Kai. “I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you this earlier, but I think you’ll understand why.”</p><p>Evelyn’s heart dropped into her stomach. This was definitely not a tone that she liked. This was a breakup tone. “Just tell me.”</p><p>“Remember how I told you that you would get the rest of the story about my dad someday?” Robby asked, hands starting to twitch with worry on the other side of the phone.</p><p>She sighed with relief. This didn’t really seem like it was leading to a breakup. “I remember. You don’t have to tell me, though. I know everything that I want to know about that guy. Deadbeat jerk.”</p><p>“Maybe you should wait to hear what I’m about to say before calling him a deadbeat jerk.”</p><p>“I’m just calling it like it is!” She protested. “He leaves you? He’s a deadbeat. He keeps getting your hopes up about having a relationship with him and then crushes you? He’s a jerk.”</p><p>“Ev.” His voice was soft.</p><p>“Fine.” She could tell from his tone that whatever was going on with his dad was important. “What do you have to tell me?”</p><p>“You already know him,” he admitted.</p><p>She shook her head, deeply confused. “I do?”</p><p>“Really well, actually.” Robby grimaced.</p><p>“Okay? Who is he?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>Robby took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. He’d come this far. It was time she finally knew the truth. “Your sensei.”</p><p>“Sensei Lawrence is your <em> dad? </em>” She exclaimed.</p><p>He nodded. “Yeah.” </p><p>Evelyn couldn’t believe his words, but then something clicked. “Oh.”</p><p>“Oh? What does ‘Oh’ mean?” Robby asked.</p><p>“That’s what you meant when you said that Miguel’s replaced you, and why you didn’t want to join Cobra Kai. That’s why you asked about him so much.” She blinked, watching the pieces in her head fall into place. “That’s why <em> he </em> asked about <em> you </em> so much.”</p><p>Robby looked stunned. “He asked about me?”</p><p>“Of course he asked about you, when he found out that we were friends. To the point that I was actually starting to get worried that he was stalking you or something. It makes a lot of sense now.”</p><p>Evelyn continued to talk about her sensei, but her words were just washing over Robby’s head. His dad asked about him. Somewhere, deep down, his dad must care about him. Even after everything, he cared enough to ask.</p><p>“Robby? Are you okay?” She’d somehow realized that he wasn’t listening to a word she said.</p><p>He snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice. “Sorry. Yeah. I’m here.”</p><p>“Wait.” Yet another realization struck her. “Does your dad have anything to do with why you and Mr. L fought? Were you lying to me before?”</p><p>“Yeah, I was. I figured that it wasn’t the best idea to tell you that your sensei is my dad right before the tournament, and then I got too scared to say something. I actually got the job at the dealership to piss off my dad, not to steal things. I’m sorry for lying to you.”</p><p>“It’s okay, Robby. Thanks for telling me. I know it must’ve been hard.” </p><p>“It was. But I’m glad that I did.” He sighed. “Is this going to change anything?”</p><p>“No? Why would it?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“I just don’t want my problems with my dad to affect your relationship. Even though you quit, I know how important he is to you.”</p><p>“Well, it won’t. I promise. My <em> former </em> sensei has already affected our relationship enough by siccing Miguel and Hawk on you at the tournament.” Her lip curled at the memory of Miguel, the memory of their fight.</p><p>“That was really shitty of him.” Robby admitted.</p><p>“Yeah.” Her eyes hardened. “It was, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“Ev, don’t-” That was the last thing that she heard him say before hanging up the phone, and storming to her car. It was time for Evelyn to have some words with her former sensei.</p><p>Robby put down the phone, realizing exactly what she was about to do. The wrath of Evelyn di Angelo was a thing to be feared, and every ounce of that wrath was about to be turned onto his father. <em> Great. </em> Robby already had enough going on in his life. He really didn’t want to play mediator between his girlfriend and his dad, but he also figured that she didn’t really need a mediator. She was fairly predictable most of the time. She was probably just going to yell at him, he was going to say something, she was going to say something that hit really hard, then storm out, leaving him to feel bad about what he did. He’d think about what he did wrong, apologize, and then everything would be okay. It worked every single time.</p><p>Miguel was currently in the ‘leaving him to feel bad about what he did’ stage. He’d been thinking about his fight with Evelyn every single day since it happened, thinking about what he could’ve done differently. Him calling her disloyal was like him taking a knife and sticking it in her gut, which he now realized. He knew how much that Evelyn valued loyalty, so using that particular trait as a weapon was cruel. Just like what he did to Robby.</p><p>Evelyn threw open the doors to Cobra Kai, not caring at all that they were in the middle of training. Her sensei started to smile when he saw her, hoping that she’d finally decided to come back. He’d been beating himself up pretty badly about what happened at the tournament, and the way that he’d now failed Robby, Miguel, Hawk, and her. But, all of that hope flew away when he saw the look on her face. He saw that her eyes were filled with fire as she pulled off her shoes, storming inside. “Can I have a word with you, <em> Sensei </em>?”</p><p>He knew that there was no saying no to that question. “Sure. Diaz, make sure that nobody lights anything on fire or dies while I talk to di Angelo.” Miguel nodded, his eyes still stuck on Evelyn. She was a force of nature, her hair almost swimming alongside her as she followed his sensei into his office, closing the door gently behind her. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“I’ve been trying to just move on past what happened at the tournament, but I’ve just been presented with some information that makes everything vastly worse.” Evelyn started. “How could you let Miguel and Hawk dislocate your <em> son’s </em>shoulder? Out of everybody, you let them hurt your kid.”</p><p>His face fell. “You know.”</p><p>Evelyn nodded. “Robby just told me a few minutes ago.” </p><p>“Wow. He must really trust you if he told you about all of my failures as a dad.”</p><p>“Don’t <em> even </em>try and make me feel sorry for you, and don’t you dare try to change the subject.” She pointed at him furiously. “I can’t believe you would do that to Robby.”</p><p>“di Angelo, stop.” He put up his hands, trying to block her words. “I know how bad it was. Ask Diaz and Hawk what I had them do after the tournament.”</p><p>Evelyn rolled her eyes. “I’m definitely not asking Miguel anything.”</p><p>“He’s been trying. You not speaking to him has really made him think about how much of an asshole he was to Robby. If you’d just talk to him, I think you’d understand.” </p><p>His words were sincere, causing Evelyn to drop her angry tone and sit down in the chair across from him. “You really think that he’s trying?”</p><p>He nodded. “I do.”</p><p>“Fine.” Evelyn said. “I’ll talk to him.”</p><p>“I think I have a better idea than you just talking to him.” Her sensei got out of his chair, opening the door. “Hey, Diaz.”</p><p>Miguel immediately looked up from what he was doing. “Yes, Sensei?”</p><p>“You wanna spar with di Angelo?” He asked.</p><p>“Really? That’s your idea?” Evelyn was laughing on the outside, but on the inside she really did miss karate. “Fine.”</p><p>“Here. I still have your gi.” He picked her competition gi up off of the desk, where it had been lying since the All Valley. Finding her gi in the locker room was one of the most shameful moments in Johnny Lawrence’s life. That’s the moment where he really realized how badly he’d taught her, and how much better he needed to do. </p><p>Evelyn’s eyes burned as she took the gi, going to change into it without an ounce of hesitation. She was still trying to put on the facade of disdain for karate and for Miguel, but this was the most in tune with herself she’d felt since… well, since she quit two weeks ago. The gi still fit perfectly, and she still felt as proud to wear it as she’d felt the day it was given to her. She was wearing a white belt with it to match the one that was around Miguel’s waist. She strode out proudly, throwing her hair up into a ponytail as she got into the ring with Miguel. “Hey, Diaz. Are you ready to lose?” Evelyn taunted him, earning a slight ‘ooh’ from the new members.</p><p>“More like I hope that you’re ready to rejoin Cobra Kai after you lose.” This was a challenge. One that she quickly accepted with a nod. </p><p>“Well, if you lose, then you need to apologize to Robby.” Evelyn said. “An actual apology. My life would be infinitely easier if you didn’t hate each other.” Miguel thought for a second, and then shook her hand. </p><p>They both bowed to their sensei, to each other, and then got into fighting positions. The new recruits who had just joined after the All Valley seemed nervous, and honestly? Evelyn and Miguel were, too. They both had a lot to prove, and a lot to lose. “Ready? Fight!”</p><p>Evelyn hung back for a second, knowing that Miguel’s fighting style was more aggressive and Cobra-like than hers. Of course, he was very predictable, striking first without a second of hesitation. She quickly blocked his punches, landing a jab to his left shoulder that sent him reeling. </p><p>“Nice. The shoulder.” Miguel grimaced as she helped him off of the ground. “Very symbolic.”</p><p>“I do my best.” Evelyn put her fists back up, getting ready as she heard their sensei call for them to start again. This time she went on the offensive, kicking him in the stomach. He stumbled back for a second, and then retaliated with a kick to her side that sent her stumbling in turn. “Nice.” </p><p>“Thanks.” His point brought the score up to 1-1, and brought their anxieties about winning even higher. Miguel needed to win to prove that he deserved to be the All Valley champion, and Evelyn needed to win on principle. She needed to prove that she was worth all the trouble that her sensei was putting in to try and get her back. Which, in case everyone forgot, she definitely was.</p><p>The next point started with Miguel flying to her, leg outstretched in an attempt to kick her. She quickly locked his legs with hers, bringing him down to the floor. He flipped her over, pinning her to the ground. “Point!” Their sensei called.</p><p>Miguel helped her up, a big smile on his face. He knew that he still had it, and she knew that, too. But, he was vastly underestimating her. As most had a tendency to do. He realized his mistake the minute that their next point started. He had more karate training than her, but she was significantly more agile than him. She was able to dodge each one of his punches, ducking under him with ease. She kicked his legs out from under him, kicking him once again in the stomach.</p><p>Of course, this meant that their fight had come down to the final point. “Fighting positions!” Their sensei shouted. Evelyn started to get ready, deciding to use her dance training to her advantage. She lifted her arms, one bent in front of her chest, and the other straight out to the side. Her right leg was lifted, and she was turned ninety degrees, facing away from Miguel.</p><p>“Ready? Fight!”</p><p>Before Miguel could attack, Evelyn launched herself off the ground, her right leg connecting with his face as she spun in midair. Miguel instantly fell to the ground on impact, Evelyn looking at her sensei for approval. He nodded. So, Evelyn went and helped Miguel up. “Sorry about that. Is your nose okay?”</p><p>It had started to bleed slightly, but he reassured her that he was fine. “I guess I owe Robby an apology.”</p><p>“Yes, you do.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Robby had decided to meet Evelyn and Miguel at a donut shop near the dojo. Evelyn had figured that even if Miguel and Robby reverted back to their old selves and started trying to hit each other, at least she would get a donut out of it. Robby skated up to Evelyn, kissing her quickly before addressing Miguel. “Hi.”</p><p>“Hi.” The awkwardness between the three of them was almost suffocating, until Evelyn broke it. </p><p>“I’m gonna go get myself a maple bar. If you’re fighting when I get back, I’m gonna be really pissed. Okay?” She asked pointedly, staring down both her boyfriend and Miguel.</p><p>They nodded, knowing exactly who wore the pants between the three of them. Evelyn walked inside of the donut shop, and heard them start to talk behind her. The entire time she was standing in line, she was watching them talk. Her heart rate spiked as she saw Miguel start to get angry, but calmed down when she saw him catch himself, and continue to act civilly. The biggest smile broke across her face when she was checking out, and noticed them nodding and shaking hands. She didn’t know what they were talking about, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were okay.</p><p>Maple bar in hand, she walked back outside. She knew exactly what she was about to do. “Robby, can I talk to Miguel for a second?”</p><p>“Of course.” He took the maple bar out of her hand, grinning as he stole a bite and walked away. Evelyn rolled her eyes at him, earning her another grin. </p><p>“I saw that you and him shook hands. I’m really proud of both of you.” Evelyn said.</p><p>“You’re right. Robby’s not that bad.” Miguel admitted.</p><p>“So, with that, I’ve made a decision.” She announced. “I’m coming back to Cobra Kai.”</p><p>Miguel’s eyes widened with shock and excitement. “Are you serious? You won the fight. You don’t have to.”</p><p>“Yes, but you’ve changed. I quit Cobra Kai because I was mad at you,” she explained. “Now that we’re good, I want to come back. I miss it there.”</p><p>“That’s great!” Miguel beamed, pulling Evelyn into a hug.</p><p>As Robby watched Miguel hug Evelyn, his jaw tensed with previously suppressed jealousy. Sure, him and Miguel were past the shoulder dislocating. But, the way that he was hugging Evelyn?</p><p>Robby didn’t like that one bit.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>took them long enough, right?<br/>also demetri's reaction will never make me not laugh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn finds out a bit more about Robby's home life. Robby is jealous of Miguel.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn walked into Miyagi-Do one day, and noticed Robby hitting the punching bag repeatedly, his hair flying and his eyes wild. His demeanor immediately put her on red alert. People who looked that angry, especially guys, scared her, but she tried her hardest to calm down and remind herself that Robby wasn’t like that. He would never hurt her. “Robby?” He couldn’t hear her. He just kept punching, and punching, and punching. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Her words finally broke through the spell of rage that he was currently under. “Ev.”</p><p>“Babe, are you okay? You seem super pissed off.” She pointed out.</p><p>“It’s nothing.” He snapped, starting to unravel the wraps from his fists. “Don’t worry.”</p><p>“I’m definitely worried.” She said, trying to push the calm out of her voice and into him. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”</p><p>Robby scoffed. “Can I, though? Can I really talk to you about this?”</p><p>“Yes. You can.” Evelyn insisted.</p><p>“So I can talk to you about how my mom’s in Cabo with some guy, and I don’t know if she’s ever coming back? I can talk to you about how I don’t know how many bills got paid this month, or if I’m going to be able to buy groceries next week? Even if I could talk to you, what the hell are you gonna do about it?” He scoffed, his green eyes hard. “Oh. I know. The perfect Evelyn di Angelo is going to fix her pathetic charity case’s life by talking about it. Your name even means angel, right? It fits.”</p><p>Evelyn looked like she’d been slapped. Both by his situation, and by the way he was talking to her about it. She knew that stuff at home wasn’t good for him, but she didn’t know the half of it. She still didn’t, even after that admission. “That was mean. I’m not an angel, and you’re definitely not my pathetic charity case.”</p><p>Robby sighed, running his fingers through his sweaty hair in an attempt to get it out of his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that stuff to you. What’s happening with my mom isn’t your fault. It’s just… You could do so much better than me. You deserve someone who doesn’t have all these problems.” He wasn’t looking for her to reassure him. For the first time, he was just being really honest about how he felt.</p><p>“That’s where you’re wrong. I couldn’t do better than you, even if I wanted to try.” She walked up to him, taking his hands in hers gently. “I choose you, Robby Keene, problems and all.”</p><p>Robby responded to that by pulling her into his arms, and kissing her. Words just weren’t enough to describe how he was feeling towards her in that moment. To Robby, kissing Evelyn was almost like a religious experience. It was something about the way that she held him, about the way she made him feel like he was worth more than what everyone said he was worth, something about the way that she moved, something about her.</p><p>His hands were placed gently on her waist, and Evelyn was once again taken aback by how good of a kisser that Robby was. Kissing him was almost intoxicating, to the point that she was slightly dizzy when she finally pulled away from him. “You know, I wouldn’t let someone who I thought was my charity case kiss me like that.”</p><p>“You better not be letting anyone else kiss you like that.” Robby said, and pulled her back in.</p><p>Let’s just say that the punching bag was quickly forgotten.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Evelyn was late for training the next day, so she was already on edge when she walked in the door. That uneasy feeling multiplied times a thousand when she noticed a new person standing in the dojo. He was probably in his mid-70s, and there was a look about him that made her skin crawl. She was fairly perceptive, and she knew right off the bat that this guy was trouble. The way he was standing, the way that he was looking at each person as if he was determining how best they could serve him, the way that he was looking at her sensei, the way he was looking at Miguel… She didn’t like it one bit.</p><p>She quickly put on her gi, and then pulled Miguel off to the side and away from the visitor. “Who is this guy?”</p><p>“Sensei said that his name’s Mr. Kreese.” Miguel said.</p><p>She was trying to brush off the weird feeling that she got when she saw him, but it somehow intensified more when she heard him talking to Hawk. “I don’t like the look of him. He seems really sketchy.”</p><p>“I know.” Miguel was almost as perceptive as Evelyn, but he had way more faith in their sensei than she did. “Sensei said to trust him, so I think we should try.”</p><p>“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Evelyn muttered as training started for that day. Their sensei said that he was just a visitor, and that they should just pretend like he wasn’t even there, but it was really hard with the way that he was staring at Evelyn. He was examining her every move, clearly judging her, sizing her up against the rubric in his head.</p><p>Their sensei seemed on edge, but it hit a boiling point when Miguel had them just mess around during warmups, instead of taking them seriously. Their sensei got even more angry when Aisha started to laugh, which culminated in an announcement. “5:00 am tomorrow morning. Corner of Fulton and Raymer. You don’t show, and you’re off the team. Class dismissed.” He stalked back to his office, Mr. Kreese following behind him.</p><p>Bright and early the next morning, Evelyn was tasked with driving Miguel, Aisha, Bert, and Nate. They didn’t know how long they were going to be there, and his tone the previous day made it seem like this wasn’t an activity that their parents should be aware of. Miguel was sitting in the front seat, Aisha by herself in the first row, and Bert and Nate in the back. “Everyone good?” She asked, before turning the keys and starting the car.</p><p>Bert and Nate spent the start of the drive squabbling about video games in the back, a fight that was quickly broken up by Aisha. Evelyn thought it was funny, though. She definitely felt like Bert’s older sister, a feeling that he accepted gratefully. He didn’t really know anyone else in karate besides Nate, and it was nice to have someone looking out for him.</p><p>Evelyn’s eyes widened as she pulled into the driveway near where Miguel directed her, and noticed a ton of cement mix. She was grateful that she’d decided to wear her junkiest clothes that day, something that she wouldn’t be too mad if she ended up having to throw away. It was already hot outside, and so they were sweating before their sensei even instructed them to start pouring the bags of cement into the wheelbarrows, and mixing them. Evelyn was paired with Miguel and Hawk, and they were each taking turns mixing, pouring water in, and moving the heavy bags of cement.</p><p>“Sensei, why are we mixing cement?” Miguel asked, shovel in hand.</p><p>“No questions.” Miguel and Evelyn exchanged yet another <em> Has our sensei completely lost his mind? </em> look, before getting back to it. </p><p>Evelyn’s muscles were starting to ache, and she was really starting to hate how cement looked. Suddenly, a horn blew, and a cement truck came into the driveway near where her Honda was parked. “What the hell?”</p><p>Their sensei had a quick conversation with the driver of the cement truck, and then gestured all of them over. “You think winning the All Valley gives you the right to goof off? Well, I’ve got news for you. Winning one championship don’t mean squat. A true champion never stops training. You gotta keep moving forward, or else you could get stuck exactly where you are. It’s like the cement in this truck.”</p><p>Clearly this was going somewhere. Evelyn had not a single clue of where it was going, but she really didn’t like how he kept pointing to the truck.</p><p>“That drum doesn’t start turning, the cement inside will harden and get stuck. Is that what you want to happen to you?” He asked everyone.</p><p>“No, Sensei!” They chanted.</p><p>“Good. Then climb up, get inside, and make it spin.” Their sensei announced.</p><p><em> Um, no. </em>Evelyn thought. Mixing cement was one thing. Getting inside of a cement truck and pushing it? Absolutely not. </p><p>“Sensei, we’re sorry for messing around.” Aisha said.</p><p>Hawk nodded. “We learned our lesson.”</p><p>Their sensei responded to that by pulling down the ladder to the cement truck, it hitting the side with a clang. “Get in!”</p><p>“Sensei, this seems dangerous. The fumes alone-” Miguel started.</p><p>“QUIET!” Mr. Kreese yelled. “This man led you to the mountaintop, and you question him? Look at you. Look at all of you. I can’t believe this pathetic pack of pussies competed in the All Valley. Let alone won. It’s an absolute miracle.”</p><p>Evelyn’s jaw tightened, and Miguel put a hand on her wrist so she didn’t clock Mr. Kreese right there and then. <em> How dare he come into our space and disrespect us? </em>She didn’t notice the sideways look that Aisha gave her at her casual physical contact with Miguel. Aisha definitely didn’t like the way that Evelyn and Miguel were looking at each other, and neither would Robby, if he was there.</p><p>Robby had been sitting in his jealousy towards Miguel since the day that Evelyn rejoined Cobra Kai. It wasn’t her fault that he was jealous, and he knew that. He was just jealous because he really did believe that Evelyn could do better than him. He was terrified that one day she might realize that and leave him, the way that everyone else had. He couldn’t tell her about it, though. Instead, he seethed every time he saw her and Miguel together.</p><p>“And who’s responsible for that miracle? Johnny Lawrence.” Mr. Kreese pointed to their sensei. “The best student in the history of Cobra Kai. <em> My </em>student.”</p><p>“You were Sensei’s sensei?” Hawk asked excitedly.</p><p>“You better believe it, kid. And I tell you I’ve never trained a tougher student in my whole life.” Evelyn noticed a proud look come over her sensei’s face at Mr. Kreese’s words. “So, if you know what’s good for you, you better listen to every goddamn word he says.”</p><p>Miguel thought for a second, letting go of Evelyn’s arm and stepping up slightly. “I’ll do it, Sensei.”</p><p>Evelyn fought with herself for a second, before stepping up behind him. “If Miguel’s doing it, I’ll do it.”</p><p>This earned her another unnoticed look from Aisha.</p><p>“No.” Mr. Kreese shook his head. “This isn’t something that a girl should do.”</p><p>This sent fire blazing immediately in Evelyn’s eyes, something that her sensei noticed. “She can do it if she wants to.”</p><p>“Yeah, I can!” Evelyn had no idea why she was protesting so hard to get into a cement truck, of all things, but now she really needed to prove to this Mr. Kreese guy that she could do it. Nobody got to tell her what she could and couldn’t do, and especially not him.</p><p>Her sensei and Mr. Kreese exchanged a look, before Mr. Kreese finally gave in and nodded. Evelyn clambered up the ladder behind Miguel, eyes widening the second that she saw the inside of the cement truck. The fumes were noticeable, but not overwhelming. She slid in between Miguel and Hawk, slipping slightly in the cement before finding her place. “This is so weird.”</p><p>“For sure.” Miguel and Hawk agreed.</p><p>“Don’t just stand there!” Their sensei poked his head inside of the truck. “You wanna get stuck? Move!”</p><p>The cement was slightly gritty under her hands, which slid down the walls uselessly as she pushed at it, trying to do her part. “Come on!” Miguel shouted, helping to spur on all of them. They continued to struggle with the cement, until something gave and the truck started to turn. Evelyn let out a gasp of excitement as she felt it move, pushing even harder with the continued encouragements of her teammates.</p><p>They climbed out excitedly when their sensei said that they could, everyone now completely coated in cement. It had even gotten in her hair, a fact that she was decidedly unhappy about. Her sensei started to hose them down, blasting each of them in the face before moving down to their arms and legs.</p><p>“You should be proud of yourselves. I know I’m proud. Your parents would be proud, too, if you told them what we did here today. Which we won’t.” He glanced around, making sure that everyone understood before continuing. “You pushed forward like champions. Never stopping. Never being satisfied. Never giving up. And if you keep pushing and moving forward, you’re gonna go to places you never even dreamed of.”</p><p>Evelyn took the hose out of her sensei’s hand when he was done talking, and made sure that every last bit of cement was out of her hair before wringing it out and going to find the people who she now needed to drive home. </p><p>“Hey, Ev.” Miguel said. “That was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“Yeah. When we finally got it to move. I was worried we were going to be stuck there for a second,” she admitted.</p><p>“Yeah. Me, too.” This earned him a blast in the face from the hose. “Hey! What was that for?”</p><p>“A champion never complains, Diaz.” Evelyn teased him.</p><p>“Very funny.” Miguel helped gather up everyone else that Evelyn was driving home, the cement making his hair stick up slightly.</p><p>After dropping off everyone, Evelyn decided that she would go to Miyagi-Do to see Robby. She knew that him, Sam, and Mr. LaRusso were usually there. Evelyn was handling her jealousy of Sam only slightly better than Robby was hiding his jealousy of Miguel. Both of them had very deep-rooted insecurities surrounding the person they were jealous of. Evelyn had felt like she was second to Sam her entire life. Sam was always the pretty one, the smart one, the one who got all the attention. Evelyn trusted Sam not to do anything when it came to Robby, but it was still a little painful watching your best friend have such a close relationship with your boyfriend.</p><p>Evelyn walked into Miyagi-Do and saw Robby, his blue tank top clinging to every inch of his torso. <em> Oh. </em> Every thought that she had instantly flew out of her brain as she looked at him, hazel eyes wide. He quickly noticed her, a big smirk on his face as he walked over. “Enjoying the view?”</p><p>“I- um- no. No. Definitely not.” Evelyn insisted, shaking her head.</p><p>“It’s okay if you are.” He brushed his wet hair out of his face, which made it really hard for her to breathe. “I don’t mind.”</p><p>Evelyn flushed. “Shut up.” </p><p>“Make me.” Robby flicked an eyebrow up. He knew exactly what he was doing to her, and he loved it. He loved it even more, though, when she leaned in and kissed him. His hands moved downwards to her hips, but instantly stopped when he realized what that grey substance under his fingers was. “Is that cement?” She nodded. “Why are you covered in cement?”</p><p>“Do you really want to know?” Evelyn asked. She knew that he didn’t like talking about his dad, so she tried to avoid the subject if at all possible.</p><p>“Yeah. How’d you get it in your hair?” He held up a strand of black hair that was now gray.</p><p>“Damn it! I thought I washed it all off.” Evelyn pouted, taking the strand out of his hand and looking at it. “Well, I pushed a cement truck today. Your dad had us get inside, and make it move.”</p><p>Robby looked stunned. “Isn’t that super dangerous?”</p><p> “We were fine.” She shrugged.</p><p>“If you say so.” He checked the clock on the wall quickly, and then realized it was probably time for him to be heading home. “Ev, I need to go. I’ll call you later?”</p><p>“Okay.” She kissed him quickly, before watching him walk away. </p><p>“Ev?” Sam’s voice came from behind her, making her turn around. Sam was also covered in water, her hair clinging to the back of her neck. “How much do you know about Robby’s home life?”</p><p>“I know some stuff. What did he tell you?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>Sam looked downwards. “He said that his mom ran out, and that she’d missed some bills.”</p><p>“I knew about the mom part. He told me a bit about it the other day. It explains why he’s been so on edge,” she said. </p><p>“Yeah. I’m actually thinking about talking to my dad about it. Do you think that’d be a good idea?” Sam asked. “You know Robby better than anybody.”</p><p>Evelyn smiled at the affirmation. It was true. She did know Robby better than anybody. “I think he might be pretty hesitant to accept help, but he definitely needs it. And he trusts your dad. I think that’s a good idea.”</p><p>“Okay. You wanna come with me?” Sam asked.</p><p>“No.” She shook her head. “Leave me out of it. I don’t want Robby to think that I’m meddling in his home life. That’s not my place. Let me know how it goes, okay?” </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>
  <b>Sam</b>
</p><p>Robby’s here at my house<br/>I overheard my parents talking and I think he’s gonna be staying with us at least for a little while</p><p>Okay</p><p>You wanna come over and say hi to him?<br/>I’m sure that he’d like to see you</p><p>Maybe tomorrow<br/>I’m really tired from training</p><p>This was a lie. She was tired from training, but she mostly just didn’t feel like seeing Sam and Robby together. Sure, she was beyond glad that Robby wasn’t living by himself anymore. He deserved better than that. But, she was just as terrified as he was that he would find someone better, like Sam.</p><p>But, all of her fears were instantly assuaged the second that he called her. She picked up the phone quickly, a slight smile on her face. “Hey, babe.”</p><p>“Hey. I just wanted to let you know that Mr. LaRusso asked me to stay with him for a little while, at least until my mom comes back,” he said.</p><p>“Sam told me. I’m glad to hear from you, though.” Evelyn sighed at the memory of her texts with Sam. “Robby, can I be really honest with you?”</p><p>Robby nodded. “Of course.”</p><p>“I’m pretty jealous of Sam. Not because you’re staying with her, of course.” She immediately clarified, not wanting him to think she was upset about him finally being out of a bad situation. “I’m so glad that you’re not living by yourself anymore. Just… in general. She’s always been better than me.”</p><p>“Ev, you have absolutely no reason to be jealous of Sam.” Robby reassured her. “But, if we’re being honest about jealousy, I’m super jealous of Miguel.”</p><p>“Really?” Evelyn, for the life of her, could not understand why Robby would be jealous of Miguel, at least when it came to her. She understood the rivalry surrounding her sensei, but she was just as blind to the chemistry between her and Miguel as he was. “You have absolutely no reason to be jealous. Miguel and I are just friends.”</p><p>“Okay.” There were some other voices on the other side of the phone, and Robby was quiet for a second. “I should probably go. See you tomorrow.”</p><p>“See you tomorrow.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>
  <b>Robby 💙</b>
</p><p>Hey</p><p>Hi<br/>What’s going on</p><p>Well, actually. Just saw the commercial for your dojo</p><p>I was wondering if you’d seen it</p><p>Snake in the grass?<br/>Seriously?</p><p>I had no idea that he was going to say that<br/>You should come join Miyagi-Do though<br/>It’d be way more fun having you here</p><p>I would say you should come join Cobra Kai instead but I don’t see that happening</p><p>As always, you’re right</p><p>It’s a talent of mine<br/>I gotta go to training though<br/>Put out whatever fires your commercial caused<br/>And then learn fake karate</p><p>That’s not what Mr. LaRusso meant</p><p>He called Miyagi-Do true karate!<br/>Implying that anything that isn’t what you’re learning is fake</p><p>Come on<br/>You know it’s just because he hates my dad<br/>It’s not anything to do with you</p><p>Sure feels like that</p><p>I’m sorry</p><p>You know you’re gonna have to make this commercial thing up to me</p><p>How?</p><p>Let me take you out<br/>There’s someplace I want to show you</p><p>What is it?</p><p>You’ll see<br/>It’s probably my favorite place in the entire world</p><p>That’s such a horrible punishment.<br/>I definitely don’t want to go spend time with my girlfriend someplace that makes her happy<br/>Am I going to have to kiss you, too?<br/>That would make it even worse</p><p>You’re funny</p><p>I try<br/>See you later?</p><p>See you later</p><p>Evelyn walked into the dojo, and saw Miguel and Hawk having a conversation while stretching. Miguel was the first one to notice her. “Hey, Ev.”</p><p>“Hey.” She came and sat next to Hawk, stretching along with them. “What’s going on?” </p><p>“We were just talking about the commercial.” Miguel said.</p><p>She rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Not the stupid commercial.”</p><p>Miguel glanced around to see who could hear before looking back at her. “Sensei and I came up with a plan to get back at Miyagi-Do. You can’t tell Robby about it, though.”</p><p>“Are we really doing the ‘getting back at them’ thing?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“Miyagi-Do disrespected us.” Hawk insisted. “We aren’t just going to let them get away with it.”</p><p>Evelyn raised her eyebrow slightly at Hawk’s intensity. “What are we doing, then?” </p><p>“Miyagi-Do’s gonna do a demonstration at Valley Fest.” A devilish smile came across Miguel’s face. “We’re gonna show up, and show the people watching what true karate looks like.” </p><p>“So you want me to help you show up my boyfriend’s karate demonstration?” Evelyn wanted to make sure that she heard this correctly.</p><p>Miguel noticed Evelyn’s hesitation. “Come on. Robby and you’ll be fine. So, are you in?”</p><p>“Of course I’m in.” Evelyn smiled, but she was still hesitant. As she did her handshake with Miguel, she knew exactly what she was doing.</p><p>She was choosing Miguel over Robby.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yeah the robby jealousy thing is definitely not going to become a Thing... i promise... (no i'm lying it's a major plot point hehehe)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Valley Fest!!<br/>Ev and Robby go on a super cute date.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keeping the secret of their Valley Fest plans from Robby was way more difficult than Evelyn possibly could’ve expected. Every time she looked at him, she was filled with the overwhelming urge to tell him about it, but she had to continue to suppress it. He couldn’t know. He was the one person who absolutely couldn’t know.</p><p>But, she had to know something else. “Hey, Robby?”</p><p>“Yeah?” He looked up from the book that he was reading. He was laying on her bed, and she was sitting on her chair and texting Aisha about their plans. She was also wearing one of his flannels, a fact that made it very difficult for him to take his eyes off of her long enough to finish a sentence. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“Will you still like me, even if something happens between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai?” Evelyn asked apprehensively. </p><p>“Of course. I don’t really care about the dojo rivalry, but I do care about you.” Robby said. He quickly noticed the guilty look on her face, though. “Ev, what’s going on? Is there something Cobra Kai’s planning that I don’t know about?”</p><p>“I can’t tell you that.” This was a yes, and they both knew it.</p><p>“Is anybody gonna get hurt?” Robby asked.</p><p>Evelyn shook her head. “It’s definitely not that. I would tell you if somebody was gonna get hurt.”</p><p>“Okay. Then we’ll be fine, no matter what it is.” His reassurances just made her feel even worse about keeping this secret from him. Thankfully Valley Fest was the next day, so she would only have to keep the secret for the rest of that day. Both of them would be spending the day of doing last-minute planning for their respective demonstrations.</p><p>Evelyn put her phone in her back pocket, and started looking for her shoes. “So, would now be a good time for me to take you to that place I want to show you?”</p><p>“Yeah. Sounds like fun.” Robby followed in suit, and then started to follow her out of the door. But, he caught her around the waist before she could leave, turning her around to face him. “This is more fun, though.”</p><p>With that, he closed the gap between them. Evelyn struggled with herself, kissing him back for a second before pulling away. “As much as I like you, if we don’t go now we’re never going to leave.”</p><p>“You’re right. Sorry.” Robby reached for her hand instead, smiling as she led him down the hallway, and into her car.</p><p>He was definitely starting to get confused as Evelyn drove, not giving him any indication as to where they were going. With her, it could be literally anywhere. He definitely didn’t expect her to park outside of a strip mall, looking more comfortable than he’d ever seen her. “What is this place?”</p><p>“My second home.” Evelyn pushed open the doors to the Italian deli, and walked inside. “Antonio and Francesca own it, and they practically helped raise me.”</p><p>A burly Italian man with a large white mustache walked out from the back room, and a big smile broke across his face when he saw Evelyn. “<em>Hey, Francesca, look who it is!</em>” Antonio greeted Evelyn, gesturing his wife over. “<em>It’s our little girl.</em>”</p><p>“<em> Hi. </em> ” Evelyn greeted him with a smile. “ <em> How are you? </em>”</p><p>“<em> Good. How are you? </em>” Antonio asked. </p><p>“<em> I missed everyone here. It’s been way too long. You know how busy it gets, though. School, dance, karate… </em>” She glanced over at Robby, not finishing the sentence. </p><p>Robby looked completely aghast. “You speak Italian?”</p><p>“Yeah. I’ll explain more later.” She patted him gently on the hand, before returning to Antonio, who was now joined by his wife Francesca. Antonio and Francesca were about as close to grandparents as Evelyn had. Her mom never got along with her parents, and both of her father’s parents were dead. Evelyn and Demetri had spent countless hours at this store, just running around and playing.</p><p>“Evelyn!” Francesca quickly noticed that Evelyn was not in fact joined by her brother, as she so often was, but someone new. “<em> Who’s this? </em>”</p><p>“<em> This is my… friend, Robby. </em>” Evelyn explained. She didn’t know if she was quite ready for Francesca to know the truth about their relationship.</p><p>Robby recognized his name, and waved. “Hi.”</p><p>“<em> He’s very cute, Evelyn. Are you sure that he’s not your boyfriend? </em> ” Evelyn blushed, making Francesca gasp. “ <em> Is he? </em> ” Evelyn nodded begrudgingly, knowing that she couldn’t keep a secret from someone who knew her that well. Francesca immediately came out from behind the counter, and started cooing over him. “ <em> Look at you! </em> ” Evelyn rolled her eyes, still blushing and smiling while Francesca gave Robby her once over. After a few minutes, Francesca turned to Evelyn and nodded. “ <em> As long as he’s good to you, we’re very happy. Is he good to you? </em>”</p><p>“<em> The best, </em>” she said. </p><p>“Is that you?” Robby had noticed a picture behind the counter, one that he recognized as toddler versions of Evelyn and Demetri. Marie was there too, along with a guy that he recognized as Evelyn’s dad. Robby knew that Evelyn’s dad had died of cancer when she was six, and that she didn’t really like to talk about it. He understood not wanting to talk about your dad, so he never pushed the subject.</p><p>“Evelyn and Demetri have been coming here since they were babies. We knew their father, may God rest his soul.” Francesca said sadly. She had a very slight Italian accent, one that you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it.</p><p>“Yeah.” Evelyn’s lip twitched. Robby reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly, making her smile.</p><p>Francesca smiled kindly at Evelyn, before turning to Antonio. “<em> Antonio, get Evelyn her usual. And something for her boyfriend. </em>”</p><p>“Are you allergic to anything? Any particular dislikes when it comes to food?” Evelyn asked Robby. </p><p>He shook his head. “Nope. Why? What’s happening?”</p><p>“Antonio’s gonna make something, and you’re gonna love it. He’s a genius.” Francesca smiled kindly at Evelyn, before following her husband into the back.</p><p>“I have so many questions.” Robby said as she led him to one of the tables.</p><p>She knew that he was probably going to be confused. “Like what?” </p><p>“When did you learn Italian?”</p><p>“When I was a kid. My dad was super adamant about us - well, more like me - learning the language. He didn’t want us to forget the way a lot of my cousins did.” Evelyn explained.</p><p>Robby just sat there, staring at her. He was completely dumbfounded by this new side of her. They’d had some deep conversations, but this felt more personal than any conversation they could possibly have. She was letting him into her culture, into one of the most fundamental parts of her being. This was one hell of a date.</p><p>“Any other questions?” She teased, noticing the look on his face.</p><p>“Does Demetri speak Italian, too?” Robby asked.</p><p>She shook her head. “He refused to learn. I keep telling him that he’s going to regret that someday, but he says that it’s okay because he’s already bilingual.”</p><p>“What other language does he speak, then?” This was new information to Robby, who just blindly assumed that Demetri, like him, was monolingual.</p><p>Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Klingon.”</p><p>“Oh.” Robby didn’t quite know how to respond to that. “Well, my friends actually taught me some phrases in Italian.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah?” She asked. “Tell me one.” </p><p>He winked at her. “<em> Your clothes are very pretty, but they’d look even better on my bedroom floor. </em>”</p><p>A deep flush spread across Evelyn’s face. She could barely even form words as she looked at him, her heart pounding. That was a super forward comment for people who had only been dating for two months. She prayed that Francesca hadn’t heard that comment, or she would never hear the end of it.</p><p>Robby looked really confused. “What? What’s wrong?”</p><p>She burst out into laughter at the look on his face, realizing that he had no idea what that phrase actually meant. “Wait. What do you think that means?”</p><p>“Trey and Cruz told me that it meant that your eyes were pretty.” The realization struck him that he must’ve been lied to, making him roll his eyes. “Damn it. What does it actually mean?”</p><p>“You told me that my clothes were pretty, but they’d look even better on your bedroom floor.” Evelyn said quickly, her face still flushed.</p><p>“Oh.” His eyes went wide. “OH. I wasn’t trying to-”</p><p>“I know.” She reassured him.</p><p>“We’ve only been dating for two months. That’s way too soon, and-”</p><p>“Robby. Calm down. I know,” she repeated.</p><p>He glanced away, very embarrassed. “Well, that explains why one girl slapped me when I used it on her.”</p><p>“You used it on girls?” Evelyn knew that Robby used to be what some would call a womanizer, but this was a side of him that he really tried to keep hidden from her.</p><p>Robby was definitely starting to blush, too. “Yeah.” </p><p>“Did you really just believe it when your friends said that that was a good line?” She asked teasingly. “You didn’t even try to verify what you were saying?”</p><p>“Not my finest moment,” he admitted.</p><p>“I can teach you some actual phrases, if you want.” Evelyn offered.</p><p>Francesca came up from behind her, holding two plates in her hand. “<em> You should teach him how to say ‘Will you marry me, Evelyn?’ </em>” </p><p>“Very funny.” Evelyn made another face at her, which Francesca responded to by patting Evelyn on the cheek.</p><p>Robby took a big bite of his sandwich, and his eyes widened instantly. “This is really good.”</p><p>“Isn’t it?” She took a bite of hers, too. “I told you that Antonio was a genius.”</p><p>They spent the next few minutes eating in silence, knees pressed against each other underneath the table. When they were both done they cleaned up all of their trash, and then there was a fight about who was going to pay, which Evelyn won.</p><p>He took her hand again as they walked back into the parking lot, earning yet another proud smile from Francesca and Antonio. They hadn’t seen Evelyn smile like that in a very long time. It was more obvious to them than anyone, since they knew her so well, that she really cared about Robby. She’d never brought someone else there before. Not even Sam or Aisha, the two people who had been her best friends since she was a kid.</p><p>Robby didn’t know that, though. He was already so awestruck by the fact that his already incredible dancer karate girlfriend was also bilingual. Her speaking Italian was definitely one of the hottest things that he’d ever heard, and he was now determined to start learning a little bit in order to impress her. As if he had to do anything in order to impress her, but he wanted to try. </p><p>--------------------</p><p>“Hey, Ev?” Miguel was in the passenger’s seat of her car, and she was driving him to Valley Fest. He didn’t have his license or a car, and she’d been his designated driver since she got hers.</p><p>“Yeah? What’s going on?” She didn’t take her eyes off the road. Evelyn could feel his eyes on her, though. A feeling that she was trying to ignore.</p><p>“How long have you known that Sensei is Robby’s dad?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Since the day I rejoined Cobra Kai,” she admitted. “Why?”</p><p>Miguel rolled his eyes. “Thanks for telling me.”</p><p>“It took me months to get Robby to even talk about his family, let alone tell me that our sensei is his dad. I really hope you’re not actually pissed that I didn’t tell you his deepest family secrets.” This was a challenge. One that he thankfully backed down from.</p><p>“You’re right. Sorry.” Miguel spotted the rest of their friends, so she pulled into a parking spot right next to her sensei’s car. </p><p>As Evelyn got out, she took off Robby’s flannel, folding it gently and placing it in the backseat. She was wearing her Cobra Kai gi underneath it, and her signature black Converse. The large crowd and overwhelming sound started to make Evelyn really anxious, but she took a deep breath, looked back at the flannel, and then followed Miguel into the already-dark night.</p><p>“Coming up next, do I have a treat for you!” A voice came over the loudspeakers, drawing all of their eyes. “Please direct your attention to the LaRusso auto booth for a presentation from Miyagi-Do Karate.”</p><p>The crowd applauded, and Evelyn applauded politely, too. This earned her a glare from Miguel, one that she returned. Just because they were showing up the demonstration didn’t mean she couldn’t be proud of her boyfriend. Evelyn spotted Demetri in the crowd, wearing her Cobra Kai t-shirt. Demetri had asked Moon to take him. He knew that Evelyn was going to Valley Fest by herself, but he had no idea of the true reason. Nobody did.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat as she saw Robby walk out in his gi, the shadows illuminating only his silhouette. What they were doing was a type of karate that she was vastly unfamiliar with, but she thought that Robby looked incredible. It was the same type of grounded movement that he was doing during the All Valley. Only, instead of fighting her, he was fighting Sam. <em> Of course he was fighting Sam. </em> They stepped out into the light, everything suddenly coming into full focus. The way he moved was absolutely dreamy, in Evelyn’s opinion. It almost made her feel bad about what was about to happen.</p><p>“Now, time for the grand finale.” Evelyn and Aisha locked eyes, before nodding. The sound system powered down, and the crowd began to whisper as they started to run out.</p><p>“Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!” Evelyn was running next to Aisha. Aisha and her were still the only two girls in Cobra Kai, but they figured that two were better than just either of them. They did both feel bad about showing up Miyagi-Do, especially since Sam was one of the only other girls that they knew who did karate.</p><p>But, this opportunity was just too badass to let go.</p><p>Robby’s heart sank as he watched Evelyn run in, chanting the name of her dojo. <em> Great. </em>Of course she would choose Miguel, choose Cobra Kai over him. Now he knew exactly what she was talking about the day before. A Cobra Kai banner unfurled, making the smile on Evelyn’s face even bigger. Robby’s anger towards Cobra Kai did shift to awe once he saw her start to move. Her karate was absolutely, without a doubt, different than his. She was more fluid than the rest of the Cobras, but her movement had a certain angularity that he lacked.</p><p>“Cobras, show them what real karate looks like!” Evelyn looked at Aisha, smiling as they began to spar. They moved quickly, Aisha knocking down Evelyn with a move that felt wrestling-inspired. Aisha helped her up, and they slapped hands before filing offstage. Miguel was the one who finally took down Hawk, Evelyn clapping proudly for him.</p><p>Robby almost sprinted onto the stage and decked Miguel right then and there for the way that Evelyn was looking at him. That was the way that Evelyn should be looking at <em> him, </em>not Miguel. She didn’t think anything of it, though. Miguel and her were just friends.</p><p>The look on Demetri’s face as Hawk broke a board in his hands almost made Evelyn laugh, but she suppressed it. She had to focus, since it was time for her moment. Robby watched, even more awestruck, as she ran out onto the stage. Miguel was also out there with her, and she almost was dancing as she fought him.</p><p>At the end of their fight, Miguel laced his fingers together and she leapt off of them, flying into the air. She did a kick in midair, landing on her feet with the agility only someone who’d been dancing for the better part of 12 years could have. She looked beautiful, her hair falling perfectly into place when she landed. She looked so comfortable, so happy, that Robby almost forgot about his jealousy towards Miguel, and how betrayed he felt that she didn’t tell them about their demonstration.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>The rest of the Cobra Kais ran out onstage, and they took turns throwing t-shirts and banners at the cheering crowd. Evelyn made sure to throw hers at Demetri, grinning at him. Her and Aisha watched excitedly as their sensei broke through a pile of burning bricks, and then joined him back onstage for their final moment.</p><p>Evelyn and Robby locked eyes as she stood between Aisha and Doug, and her heart twinged as she noticed the look on his face. He looked hurt more than anything. As the crowd chanted the name of their dojo, she wanted more than anything to go over to him and apologize, but it was too late. He was turning to Sam, and the two of them were walking away together. <em> Goddamnit. </em>He knew exactly what he was doing, and she knew it. Now she was the one wanting to run off the stage and deck Sam. It wasn’t Sam’s fault, though, and she knew it. It was hers.</p><p>She ran after Robby the second that her sensei let them go. “Robby, wait up.”</p><p>“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Sam asked, realizing that this was not a conversation she should be present for. </p><p>“Okay.” Robby nodded at Sam, and then turned to Evelyn. “Hey, Ev.”</p><p>“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t tell you. I feel terrible.”</p><p>“Now I know what you were talking about yesterday, when you said that you were planning something.” Robby scoffed, rolling his eyes. “More like when you were planning something with Miguel.”</p><p>This was not a response that she expected. “What do you mean ‘planning something with Miguel?’ What does Miguel have to do with anything?”</p><p>“Miguel has to do with everything,” he protested. “I told you that I was jealous of him, but it’s looking more and more like there’s a reason for me to be jealous.”</p><p>This was unfathomable to Evelyn. “What are you even talking about?”</p><p>Robby gestured back towards where the stage was. “You and him were flirting. I’m not blind, you know.”</p><p>“Miguel and I are definitely not flirting. You are the only person I flirt with. Come on.” Evelyn walked up to him, adjusting the front of his gi slightly. “Him and I are just friends.”</p><p>“It’s really hard to believe that, Ev.” Robby admitted. “I’m trying to trust you, but it’s really hard to believe that you and him are just friends with the way that he’s looking at you.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes. “How exactly is he looking at me?”</p><p>“The way that I look at you.”</p><p>Evelyn’s heart simultaneously sank and rose into her throat. This was the closest that Robby got to admitting his feelings, but she hated the fact that it only came out because of Miguel. “Robby, I swear to God that I’m not flirting with Miguel. If he’s looking at me, then that’s his problem. I’m with you. I choose you. Do you choose me, or do you choose Sam? Because if we’re talking about flirting…”</p><p>“I don’t choose Sam. I choose you.” He leaned in, meeting her lips without an ounce of hesitation. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands were gently resting on the black belt that was tied around her gi. Evelyn swore, as she kissed him, that she was done choosing Miguel. If Robby kept holding her the way that he was holding her right then, then she would never think about Miguel ever again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i'm so sorry about the miguel plotline i feel terrible<br/>it's necessary but still sucks a lot<br/>also me making ev bilingual was entirely because i wish i spoke italian<br/>robby not being able to understand when she speaks italian will definitely not come back to be helpful later on<br/>ALSO THE FLANNEL (crying)<br/>also demetri saying he's bilingual because he speaks klingon is so unfortunately in character for him<br/>THE ROBBY PICKUP LINE LSDKJLSDAKLSDJSL (also it's probably a terrible one but whatever i tried my best to be slightly spicy without being too over the top)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>More Ev backstory! We meet Tory! Beach club!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: knives, blood, hospitals, stitches, needles<br/>(if you've seen 2x4 [specifically the part at the beach club with robby, trey, and cruz] you can probably figure out what happens.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn was on red alert from the second that her phone buzzed later that day. Demetri was more of a texter. He never called unless something was wrong. “Demetri?”</p><p>“Can you come get me?” His voice was shaky.</p><p>Evelyn’s blood turned to ice at the sound of his voice. Something <em> had </em>happened. Something bad. But, she had no time to panic. She had to help him. “Where are you? I’ll be there in five minutes.” </p><p>He paused for a second. “I’m at the bus stop.” </p><p>She grabbed her keys off of the counter, putting her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she walked out the door. “What happened?”</p><p>“I’ll tell you when you get here.” </p><p>“Okay.” She hung up the phone, and started her car. Demetri sounded mostly unharmed, or at least he was unharmed enough to be able to speak. The entire time that Evelyn was driving, she was thinking about a conversation that she had with her father, a few weeks before he died. Back before she knew how sick he was. </p><p>
  <em> Frank was laying on their couch, his face sunken and thin from the chemotherapy. He was trying to put on a brave face for his family, but it was becoming harder and harder each day. As he stared into the eyes of Evelyn and realized that he wouldn’t be around to see her and Demetri grow up, a pang of deep sadness struck him. Even if he couldn’t be there to protect her and Demetri, at least he could do this. “Alright, Evie. You gotta take care of your brother for me, okay?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I thought that brothers were supposed to take care of their sisters.” Evelyn protested. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Demetri’s different.” Frank stared across the room, lovingly taking in the sight of his six-year-old son tearing through a new comic. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “How’s he different? Is it because he talks a lot and says things that make people mad?” She asked. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yeah. That’s it.” Frank ruffled her hair affectionately. “You gotta promise me, Evie. Make sure to look after Demetri. You’re his big sister. He needs you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I promise.” Evelyn nodded. </em>
</p><p>Evelyn was always protective of the people that she loved, but that was multiplied by a thousand when it came to Demetri. She promised her dad that she would protect him, and that’s what she’s done every single day since. By the age of seven, Demetri had developed a dry wit and sharp sense of humor that quickly alienated him from the large majority of his peers, and made him the regular target for bullies. But, Evelyn was there each time to tell the bullies off. Of course that just intensified the merciless teasing that he received in most cases, since he had to have his <em> sister </em>stick up for him, but she never broke her promise.</p><p>As she pulled up to the bench where he was sitting, her heart dropped into his stomach. Someone had hit him, and his nose was clearly injured, if not broken. She threw herself out of the car, and ran to him. “Dimi, what happened?”</p><p>He normally would have protested the use of his childhood nickname, but he was too upset to care. “I went to go join Cobra Kai, and there was this old guy there. I was just correcting him on the anatomy of his tattoo, and he punched me in the face!”</p><p>“Kreese.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Of course.”</p><p>“I’m sorry to call you like this, Ev. I didn’t know what else to do.” Demetri admitted.</p><p>“Don’t worry. I’m glad that you called me.” She reassured him. “Now, do you think your nose is broken?”</p><p>He felt around his face for a second, and then shook his head. “I don’t think so.” </p><p>“That’s good news. Do you want me to take you to the doctor, then? Or should I just take you home?”</p><p>“Home, please.”</p><p>“Okay. Let’s go.” Evelyn and Demetri got back into her car, and she started driving back home. She didn’t put something like this past Kreese. Evelyn knew that he was sketchy, but she never expected him to hurt her brother. The second that she knew Demetri was okay, John Kreese was going to get exactly what was coming to him.</p><p>Evelyn pulled into her driveway, and started ushering Demetri inside. She knew that her mom wasn’t home, which is why she was okay with bringing him here. It was enough for one overprotective di Angelo woman to be angry at Kreese. Two would be downright dangerous. </p><p>“I can’t believe that Sensei is actually okay with that guy.” Evelyn muttered as she started to clean up his nose.</p><p>“What’d you say?” Demetri asked.</p><p>“Nothing. Just thinking about some things that I have to do.” Evelyn knew that Demetri would try to talk her out of what she was planning on doing, and she didn’t have the energy to fight with him. Not while he was sitting on a chair in their bathroom, his heart broken just as much as his nose was. He’d tried to put himself out of his comfort zone, do something that brought both his best friend and his sister so much joy, and it resulted in him being injured. “Okay.” She placed a bandage across his nose, which had thankfully stopped bleeding. “You gonna be okay, Dimi?”</p><p>“Yeah. I’ll be fine. What do you have to do, anyways?” Demetri asked.</p><p>“Nothing important. Don’t worry about it.” She lied smoothly, a smile on her face.</p><p>“Okay.” He knew that she was lying, but he also didn’t have the energy to fight with her about whatever she was doing. “See you later?”</p><p>She kissed him on the forehead quickly, brushing his hair out of his face. “Of course.” </p><p>--------------------</p><p>Evelyn stormed into her dojo, mad as a hornet. As always, she took off her shoes before advancing onto the mat. She still didn’t want to disrespect the dojo, even if she was ready to disrespect some people.</p><p>“di Angelo? What are you doing here?” Johnny emerged from his office.</p><p>“Is Kreese here?” She asked, looking around the room for him.</p><p>“<em> Sensei </em>Kreese,” he corrected.</p><p>She shook her head violently. “No. He lost his ‘Sensei’ privileges when he punched my brother in the face.” </p><p>Her sensei’s face fell. “He what?”</p><p>“Demetri said that he just came in here to talk about joining Cobra Kai, and that Kreese punched him in the face. I’m pretty sure his nose is broken, but he says that it’s not.”</p><p>“He wouldn’t punch someone unless there was a good reason. I’ve met your brother. He’s kind of mouthy.” Her sensei said offhandedly.</p><p>This comment poured gasoline on the fire in Evelyn’s stomach. “So talking merits a broken nose? Is that the kind of lessons that you want to be teaching me? What’s next? Are you going to break my jaw because I’m yelling at you?” </p><p>“I would never break your jaw, di Angelo.” Johnny said.</p><p>“Sensei, you <em> promised </em>.” Evelyn was starting to show the deep hurt that she was feeling at this point. She felt really betrayed by her sensei. He’d let Kreese into their lives, and it ended with Demetri being hurt. “You promised that Cobra Kai had changed.”</p><p>“Cobra Kai has changed,” he insisted.</p><p>“You didn’t see Demetri’s face. You didn’t see how hurt he looked. This is the second time that he’s tried to join Cobra Kai, and this is the second time that he’s left the dojo injured. I’m glad that he’s trying to put himself out there, but honestly I don’t want him to try again. Not if there’s a person here who’s willing to break someone’s nose at the drop of a hat. It’s not safe for him. It’s not safe for any of us, honestly.” Evelyn protested. “What happens if someone does more than just talk at him? What happens if someone makes him angry? This guy is clearly unstable, Sensei. He literally faked his own death.”</p><p>He pointedly ignored the ‘faking his own death’ comment. “John Kreese and I go way back. You can trust him.”</p><p>“Sensei, come on,” she pleaded. She couldn’t believe that her sensei was just brushing off her worries.</p><p>“I promise.” He reassured her. “Everything’s okay.”</p><p>“Fine. But if this guy, or anybody else, touches another hair on Demetri’s head, you’re not going to like what I do.” Evelyn insisted.</p><p>He nodded in affirmation. “Nobody hurts the nerd. I get it.”</p><p>Neither of them knew who was listening to that conversation, though. Kreese smiled as he listened, knowing one thing now. If he ever needed to get back at Evelyn di Angelo, all he had to do was hurt her brother.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>When Evelyn walked back into the dojo later that afternoon, her heart dropped at the sight of ‘Sensei’ Kreese standing at the front of the dojo, telling extremely dramatic stories. This was a favorite pastime of his, and everyone else except Miguel ate these stories up. He understood just as well as she did that there was something seriously off about this guy, but he had more faith in Sensei Lawrence’s judgement than she did. “Hey, Miguel.”</p><p>“Hey. How’s it going?”</p><p>“Did you hear about Demetri?” </p><p>“No.” He looked confused. “What happened to Demetri?” </p><p>“Come here.” She dragged him by the sleeve across the dojo, far away from Kreese’s prying eyes. “Demetri was trying to join Cobra Kai, but then Sensei Kreese broke his nose.”</p><p>Miguel gasped loudly. “He what?” </p><p>“Shut up, Miguel. He’s gonna hear you.” She hissed. “But, yeah. Demetri called me earlier today, all upset. I had half a mind to tell my mother about what happened, but I decided not to. Figured it’d be better for Kreese’s health if only one of us was mad at him.”</p><p>“That’s probably a good idea. You and your mother fighting someone together? I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that.” Miguel grinned.</p><p>“Exactly. I talked to Sensei about it, but he just insisted that everything was fine.” She rolled her eyes. Sensei’s blatant refusal to do anything about Kreese, who Evelyn now considered a danger to her and the people around her, was beyond frustrating.</p><p>“I’ll talk to him later. See if I can do anything.” Miguel said.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart melted at his words. “Did I tell you that you’re the best friend ever today?” </p><p>“I think that you just did.” </p><p>“I’m gonna go get changed.” She said. “Can we talk more after training?”</p><p>“Of course.” Miguel replied.</p><p>Evelyn quickly got changed into her gi, and then started stretching. Johnny strode out of his office. “Listen up! I see we’ve got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in.”</p><p>Evelyn fell in right next to Miguel, at the very front of the room.</p><p>“Time to see what you’re made of.” Sensei Lawrence announced. He walked around the room, making comments to various people, until his eyes locked on one guy. </p><p><em> What the hell is this guy doing here? </em> Evelyn thought. <em> He’s like 35.  </em></p><p>“Sorry, parents can’t stay for class.” Johnny said. “It’s an insurance thing.”</p><p>“I’m not a dad. I… I am here to kick some ass, sir!” </p><p>Evelyn and Miguel glanced at each other, trying not to laugh.</p><p>“Do I know you from somewhere?” Her sensei asked this guy.</p><p>“Oh, yeah. I sold you the mirror.” He replied. “We kind of bonded, talked about rock bands.”</p><p>Johnny looked confused, but quickly shook it off. “Look, you’re a little old. This is a class for teenagers.”</p><p>“Well, I can take them.” He said. “I’m not afraid of kids, sir. And my mom, she doesn’t charge me rent, so I just… I got a lot of cash to burn.”</p><p><em> Makes sense that he lives with his mom, </em>Evelyn laughed to herself.</p><p>Johnny took the cash out of this guy’s hand appreciatively. “We’ll consider this a trial run.” He strode back up to the front of the room. “I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you’ll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But, to do that you’ve gotta fight. So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?”</p><p>Nobody answered. Evelyn had half a mind to, but she knew that this question wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at the new people. She was just about to volunteer after a minute of no answers before a voice came from behind her. “I’ll take him on.” </p><p>Evelyn turned, and smiled at the sight of a girl. Aisha and her were kind of getting sick of being the only two in all of Cobra Kai, and this new girl looked badass. Evelyn could tell from how she moved, and the smirk on her face. This was going to be good.</p><p>“I saw your little demo at Valley Fest.” The girl announced. “You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?”</p><p>Sensei Lawrence had made his way across the room to her. “That sounds like a challenge.” </p><p>“I like a challenge,” she said. </p><p>Johnny strode back to the front of the room. “Mr. Diaz, show Little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about.”</p><p>“Look, are you sure that you wanna do-” Miguel put his hands up defensively, but she ran up to him and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.</p><p>Miguel laughed, a big smile shining on his face. “All right. Game on.”</p><p>As the fight progressed, Evelyn got more and more antsy. The way that this girl fought, it was nothing like she’d ever seen before. It wasn’t quite Cobra Kai, but it wasn’t the more grounded style that she’d seen from Robby either. It was different. It was awesome<em> . </em> This girl was good, and they would be lucky to have her in Cobra Kai. More like <em> Miguel </em>would be lucky to have her in Cobra Kai. It was becoming increasingly obvious at each venture how strong the chemistry was between them. This girl was honestly too good for Miguel, though. Especially since everyone knew that Miguel was still super hung up on Sam.</p><p>“My name’s Miguel.” Evelyn heard Miguel say from where she was standing.</p><p>“Tory.” The girl replied. “With a y.”</p><p>Evelyn noticed her two senseis look at each other appreciatively as Tory pinned Miguel to the ground. Miguel was an All Valley champion. It was impressive that she managed to take him down on her very first day. (To be fair, Evelyn had kicked his ass pretty hard the day that she rejoined Cobra Kai, but not everyone was her.)</p><p>The second that their sensei dismissed them, Evelyn walked over to Aisha. “Hey!”</p><p>“Hey. How’s it going?” Aisha asked.</p><p>“It’s going pretty well. How are you?” Evelyn noticed Tory approaching the two of them, inspiring a fair amount of panic. She quickly wiped the sweat off of her forehead, and adjusted her ponytail. Evelyn definitely wanted to make a good impression on Tory. Tory was too gorgeous and badass for Evelyn to look like a complete mess in front of. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey.” Tory said.</p><p>“So, Tory. Ev and I were just going to go get something next door.” Aisha said. “Do you want to come with us?”</p><p>“Of course!” Tory smiled at the two of them, sending butterflies stampeding through Evelyn’s stomach. While Evelyn rationally knew that butterflies didn’t stampede, that’s exactly what it felt like. She knew that she was with Robby, and she wasn’t about to make a move on Tory or anything. But, her attraction to women was still valid, even though she was in a relationship with a man.</p><p>“So, are you new? I haven’t seen you around school.” Evelyn said nonchalantly.</p><p>“Yeah. I just moved here a while ago.” Tory replied. “What about you?”</p><p>“I was born here, and so was Ev. We’ve known each other practically since we were babies.” Aisha explained.</p><p>“That’s cool!” Tory said. “I’m really glad that I met you guys. Everyone else seems so standoffish.”</p><p>“I don’t really think that you have to worry about people being standoffish.” Evelyn laughed. “You’re way cooler than all of them.” Her face flushed as she realized that she’d just called Tory cool. <em> How embarrassing. </em></p><p>“Thanks! I completely forgot to ask, by the way. What are your names?” Tory asked.</p><p>“I’m Aisha, and that’s Ev.” Evelyn waved. “That’s a cool bracelet.” </p><p>“Thanks! It’s not just for show. Some creepy guy tried to grab me at the mall once, but I managed to block him and give him a gift he wouldn’t forget.” Tory said dramatically.</p><p>“Oh. Wow.” Aisha said. “You seem like you already know how to kick ass pretty well. What do you need Cobra Kai for?”</p><p>“I’ve had a couple kickboxing lessons, but I’ve always wanted to smash boards blindfolded, and do kicks while basically flying.” Tory smiled at both of them.</p><p>Evelyn blushed profusely. “I can’t believe you saw that.”</p><p>“The secret is poking little holes in the blindfolds.” Aisha admitted. Her phone rang again, causing her to roll her eyes.</p><p>“What is it, Aisha?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“It’s my mom. She wants me to come to the beach club with her.”</p><p>“No…” Tory said sarcastically. “That sounds horrible. Not the beach club.”</p><p>“Sam’s gonna be there.” Aisha explained.</p><p>“Oh.” Evelyn instantly understood. Her and Sam were on okay terms at the moment, but she hadn’t seen Sam since Valley Fest. Evelyn was completely sure that Sam was not happy with how that went down. Robby was pretty upset at her, but he came around. He always did. “Seeing Sam should be interesting.”</p><p>“It’d be more fun if you two were there, though.” Aisha said. “Wanna come?”</p><p>“Guess I could suffer through a day at the beach.” Tory shrugged.</p><p>“I can drive.” Evelyn offered. “My car’s right over there.”</p><p>“You can’t call it a car, Ev. It’s a old ass Honda. Call it a old ass Honda.” Aisha laughed.</p><p>“Her name is Betty, and you need to be nice to her!” Evelyn protested.</p><p>“Oh, sorry.” Aisha threw up her hands, jokingly surrendering. “You can’t call it a car, Ev. It’s a ‘Betty.’ Call it a ‘Betty.’”</p><p>“Do you want me to drive you or not?” Evelyn asked. </p><p>“Fine.” They walked next to Tory, who started laughing at Evelyn’s car. </p><p>“It’s perfect.” She smiled. </p><p>“My mom and dad got Betty before Demetri and I were born.” Evelyn said. “She’s special.”</p><p>“Demetri?”</p><p>“My brother.” </p><p>“Oh, that’s cool. I have a brother, too.” Tory said.</p><p>“That’s cool!” Evelyn disengaged the parking brake, and then started driving to the beach club.</p><p>She was absolutely nervous about seeing Sam, especially while Aisha was there. Evelyn had mended things with Sam earlier in the year, but she didn’t know if that mending would survive the Cobra Kai takeover at Valley Fest. <em> That was so much fun. </em> She thought, smiling. While she felt terrible for showing up Sam and Robby, it was her little way of getting back at Sam for all the times that Sam had shown her up. Evelyn had been second place to Samantha LaRusso her entire life in everything. She’d finally gotten her chance to be the center of attention, and she took it and milked it for all that it was worth. </p><p>Evelyn really did feel insecure when it came to Sam. Sam never got into fights. Sam never got into trouble with her parents. Sam was always the one that adults fawned over, always the one that got attention from guys, everything. She was perfect, and Evelyn was always less. At least, that’s how she felt. Sam didn’t see Evelyn as competition when it came to anything, since she knew that she would win each time. </p><p>The only person who never saw Evelyn as second to Sam was Robby. Sure, him and Sam were friends. But what he and Evelyn had was beyond anything that he could ever have with Sam. Of course they fought sometimes, like their most recent spat about Valley Fest, but they always worked through it. Aisha directed Evelyn to a spot, where she managed to park. Parking was something that Evelyn was not excellent at, but she was improving. Sort of.</p><p>“Wow. This place is… fancy.” Tory’s eyes were like saucers.</p><p>“Yeah, right?” Evelyn muttered. She’d come here a few times with Aisha and Sam, but she never really got used to how nice it was. She knew that Sam and Aisha were both super rich, but that didn’t stop Evelyn from feeling out of place at super-rich-people events. Her family did fine for themselves, but she had a single mom, and her dad’s chemo treatments had sapped all of their savings. As they walked inside, Aisha and Evelyn saw Sam at almost exactly the same time. She was with… <em> wait a second.  </em></p><p>“Is that Robby?” Aisha asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it is. I wasn’t really expecting to see him with Sam.” Evelyn’s eyes flared slightly at the idea of Sam bringing her boyfriend places.</p><p>“They’re just in Miyagi-Do together, Ev. It’s okay.” Aisha reassured her, all of them knowing that she was lying. The way that Sam was looking at Robby definitely wasn’t a way that Evelyn liked. Now she understood how Robby felt when he saw her with Miguel.</p><p>“Who’s Robby?” Tory asked.</p><p>“My boyfriend.” Evelyn smiled, like she did every time she called Robby her boyfriend, but it quickly faded back to a grimace when she saw him talking to Sam.</p><p>Tory glanced around the crowd. “Which one is he?” </p><p>“That one.” Evelyn pointed. Robby was sitting next to Sam in front of the pool, and he looked like he was feeling just as out of place as Tory and Evelyn did.</p><p>“Oh, he’s cute! How long have you been together?” Tory asked.</p><p>“About a month and a half.” They started to walk inside of the club together, but Evelyn stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed what Robby was doing. He was taking off his shirt and… Evelyn’s mind went completely blank.</p><p>Tory whistled. “Damn. Forget Robby, his name is ‘abs’ now.” She glanced over at Evelyn. “Sorry, Ev. I’m not trying to date him or anything.”</p><p>“It’s fine. I’m not worried about <em> you </em>trying to date him.” Evelyn’s eyes were back on Sam, who looked like she was feeling about the same way that Evelyn was.</p><p>“Ev, it’s fine.” Aisha reassured her. “Even if Sam is trying to date Robby, he’s not going to let that happen. He wouldn’t leave you for her.”</p><p>“Thanks, Aisha.” Evelyn smiled at her friend, and then went over to Robby. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey, babe.” A big smile came across his face. “You look hot.”</p><p>Evelyn had shed her t-shirt, leaving her in a string bikini top, and his flannel. Robby’s heart began to pound as he looked at her, and he quickly moved his eyes back up to hers. He wasn’t about to check out his girlfriend in public, no matter how good she looked.</p><p>“You do, too. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Evelyn said offhandedly.</p><p>“Sam invited me.” Robby started to explain, before realizing that’s what she was upset about. “Ev, come on. Her and I are just friends.”</p><p>“I know. I know you’re just friends. It’s just…” Her eyes met his, and she decided to be really sincere. “Sometimes it’s hard knowing that everyone wants to date you. I try not to feel insecure, but I still do. It’s not just Sam. There are a million other girls out there that would kill to get you with them.”</p><p>“First of all, not everybody wants to date me.” Robby said. This wasn’t a lie. He just didn’t believe that it was true, even though it kind of was. “Second, I choose you, remember? Even if everyone did want to date me, out of everyone, I want you. Not Sam. Not a million other girls. You.” He accentuated each of his last statements with a kiss.</p><p>How could she be upset with him when he was acting like that? Evelyn smiled at him when she finally pulled away. “Okay. I trust you.” She took Sam’s spot next to him, earning an uncharacteristically soft smile.</p><p>They could’ve spent the rest of the day just like that, but they were interrupted when Tory came up to Evelyn, also wearing a string bikini top and a flannel. “Hey, Ev. Nice outfit.”</p><p>“Hey, Tory. You, too.” Evelyn turned to Robby. “Babe, this is Tory. Tory, Robby.”</p><p>Tory smiled at him. “Hi. I’m gonna steal your girlfriend for a minute, if that’s okay.”</p><p>“Alright.” Robby kissed her for just a second longer than he should’ve, making Tory raise an eyebrow when he finally pulled away. “See you later.”</p><p>Evelyn followed Tory, feeling Robby’s eyes on her the entire time. She turned back, sending him a heart-stopping wink. She could’ve made that boy do whatever she wanted if she winked at him while she did it. Evelyn didn’t know the half of it, but the truth of the matter was that there was nothing Sam could’ve done to steal him away from her. He really, truly, cared about her. More than he’d ever cared about someone before. </p><p>“You seem happy. I know I’ve only known you for a few hours, but it really seems like you’re happy with Robby.” Tory pointed out.</p><p>Evelyn beamed, tugging slightly at the sleeves of his flannel. “I am. He’s the best.”</p><p>“Is that his?” Tory gestured to the flannel. “It’s cute.”</p><p>“Yeah. I think he realized a few weeks into dating me that his clothes are now community property.” Evelyn joked. “I’m still trying to get this one sweatshirt, but he’s being stubborn.”</p><p>“I believe in you.” Tory smiled, and then walked up to where Sam and Aisha were standing. “Hey! Look what I got.” She pulled a bottle of vodka out of her bag.</p><p>“Where’d you get that?” Aisha asked.</p><p>“Swiped it from the bar.” She noticed that Aisha and Sam exchanged a look. “Oh, relax. It’s fine. All the adults are getting wasted. No one’s gonna notice if we have a little fun.”</p><p>“You should put that back. You’ll get into big trouble.” Sam said.</p><p>Tory laughed. “And you are?”</p><p>“Sam.” Evelyn glanced over at her oldest friend. “Sam, this is Tory. Aisha and I met her in Cobra Kai today.”</p><p>“Oh, <em> the </em>Sam.” Tory’s smile was absolutely radiant, in Evelyn’s opinion. “Come on. Like anyone’s gonna miss one bottle of vodka. I could swipe half the silverware in this place before anyone would notice.”</p><p>Evelyn knew that Tory was just joking, but she also knew that Sam wasn’t going to like that. She, per usual, was right. “You shouldn’t steal anything.”</p><p>“What are you, a nun?” Tory asked. “Come on, are we gonna drink or not?”</p><p>Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t drink, but I’ll sit with you.”</p><p>Aisha glanced over at Sam, and then nodded. “OK, one drink.”</p><p>Tory wrapped one arm around Aisha and the other around Evelyn, and the three of them walked away, leaving Sam behind. Sam had never felt more betrayed by Evelyn and Aisha than she did at that moment. Not even the Valley Fest showup was worse than both of them - but especially Evelyn - consciously choosing someone they’d only known a few hours over her. Not after all that’s happened between the two of them. Not after ten years of friendship. But, apparently Evelyn had changed. She’d found some new friends. She didn’t need Sam anymore. So, Sam decided that she didn’t need Evelyn anymore either. They were done.</p><p>Evelyn didn’t know that Sam had just sworn off their friendship, though. She was too busy sitting in between Aisha and Tory in an abandoned room, laughing as the two of them drank. “Sam did <em> what </em>?” Tory asked.</p><p>“She stayed with Yasmine and Moon after they’ve been bullying all of us, but especially Aisha, since we were in elementary school.” Evelyn explained, sighing slightly. “She’s my best friend and all, but some of the stuff she does really pisses me off sometimes.”</p><p>“Well, I would never do that.” Tory reassured both of them. “I don’t mess around with bullies. That’s not cool.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Aisha still looked hurt, so Ev poked her cheek and made her laugh.</p><p>“So, Ev, tell us more about Abs. I’ve been single for so long that I’ve almost forgotten what a guy looks like.” Tory joked.</p><p>“I’m sure you could get any guy that you wanted. It’s hard to believe that you’re single.” Evelyn said.</p><p>Tory shrugged. “There aren’t any worth getting to know.”</p><p>“That’s true. Well, Robby and I met for the first time back in October, and the second time back in March. We started talking the second time, talked for about two months, and then he finally decided to kiss me on the day of the All Valley.”</p><p>“She didn’t just kiss him on the day of the All Valley.” Aisha teased her. “She made out with him in a locker room. No shirt.”</p><p>“I mean, he doesn’t need a shirt. You’ve both seen him.” Evelyn’s words made them both nod. “My boyfriend’s super hot.”</p><p>“Yeah, he is!” Tory slapped hands with her appreciatively. They spent the next hour in that abandoned room, until they got back to the subject of Sam. “So, you don’t trust Sam and Robby together?” Tory asked. “I thought you said that she was your best friend.”</p><p>“I don’t know. I trust him, but I don’t know if I trust her anymore. Any of us can see the way that she looks at him.” Aisha nodded. Evelyn was right. All of them could see the way that Sam was looking at Robby. “Robby keeps saying that he’s jealous of Miguel, which I don’t get. Miguel and I are just friends.”</p><p>This was a subject that Aisha had a lot of opinions on, and a few drinks in she was ready to voice them. “That’s bullshit, Ev. You might think that you and Miguel are just friends, but I don’t know if he knows that. You flirt with him. Even if you’re not trying to, you do.”</p><p>“Like when?” Evelyn truly couldn’t fathom the idea of actively flirting with Miguel.</p><p>“Whenever you look at each other during training. You have this special look that you give each other, like <em> Ugh, everyone else is crazy but at least you’re not. </em> You touch each other a lot, too. Hugs, he touches your hands and arms, all that. Not in a friendly way, either.” Aisha was speaking the truth, and Evelyn was starting to realize it. “He looks at you when you’re not looking. If you think Sam looking at Robby is bad, you should see the way that Miguel looks at you. It’s not the same way that he looks at Sam or anything, but you’re not just friends. If I was Robby, I’d be jealous.”</p><p>Evelyn’s head fell into her hands. The <em> Ugh, everyone else is crazy but at least you’re not </em> look was all too familiar. Now that it was all spelled out like that, she realized how right Aisha was. Even though she didn’t mean to, she had been flirting with Miguel. “I have to go talk to Robby. Tell him… I don’t know. That I get it, and that I’m really sorry.”</p><p>“Go get him, Ev. Tell us about it after.” Tory smiled, waving her on.</p><p>When she found Robby, he was standing with Sam and Amanda. “Wait, you’re missing your wallet?”</p><p>“What’s going on?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“It’s gotta be around here somewhere.” Amanda closed her bag. “Can you just spread out? I’m sure it’ll turn up.”</p><p>“I’ll check the beach. Maybe someone turned it in to the lifeguard.” Evelyn followed Robby, knowing what that look on his face meant. He definitely knew more than he was letting on.</p><p>“Robby, where are we going?” Evelyn asked, following him as he walked down to the beach.</p><p>“I know who stole Mrs. LaRusso’s wallet.”</p><p>“Really?” He nodded, but she quickly stopped him before he could walk any further. “Can I just say something before we go looking, though?”</p><p>Robby looked confused, and slightly worried. “Yeah, of course. What’s going on?”</p><p>“Aisha just called me out for everything with Miguel, and I feel terrible. You’re right.” She nodded in assent with her words. “Even though I haven’t been doing it on purpose, I have been flirting with him. I’m really sorry, and I promise that I’ll stop. You’re the only person I want to be doing that kind of stuff with.”</p><p>He definitely didn’t expect her to admit that. But, he was happy that she’d realized it, and that she was done. “I’m glad that you understand. Like you said earlier, it’s really hard knowing that everyone wants to date you.”</p><p>“But,” she took his hands in hers. “Like <em> you </em> said, I choose you. Not Miguel. You.”</p><p>“Well, that’s good to know.” She’d since tied the flannel around her waist and put her t-shirt back on, so he gently put his hands on her waist before kissing her like he’d never kissed her before. Forget butterflies. This was the entire ark. Robby gave her a signature smirk as he pulled away. “Come on.” After a few more minutes of walking, Robby finally found what he was looking for, underneath the wooden staircase. He tugged, and a collection of wallets fell onto the sand.</p><p>“Whoa.” Evelyn stared at them. “How’d you know where this was?”</p><p>“I… Well, you know. I used to do this with them.” Robby definitely wasn’t proud of his past, and he really didn’t like reminding her about how he used to be. </p><p>“Oh.” They heard voices coming down the stairs. Robby set up his phone camera, and then had her hide underneath the stairs. This was his battle. She didn’t need to get involved.</p><p>Trey was the first one to notice Robby, but he thankfully didn’t notice Evelyn. “This guy here, man.” </p><p>“Same shit, different summer.” This was a different attitude than she’d ever seen on Robby before. One that only came out around Trey and Cruz.</p><p>“What are you doing here, Robby?” Trey asked.</p><p>Robby gestured to the wallets. “Found your stash. You’re gonna give it all back.”</p><p>“The hell we are.” Cruz said.</p><p>Trey shook his head. “You didn’t learn your lesson last time? That’s cool. We can give you a refresher course.”</p><p>As Robby got into position and put his hands up, Evelyn saw a person walk up behind him holding an oar. She crawled out from underneath the staircase, and grabbed it just as it was about to hit Robby’s head. She quickly yanked the oar out of his hand, twirling it slightly as she stuck it in the sand next to her. “I didn’t just see you trying to hit my boyfriend, did I? Because I really wouldn’t like that, and you don’t want to make me angry.” Trey and Cruz’s eyes widened. They definitely didn’t expect a girl to thwart their plans. </p><p>“Hey, Ev.” Robby smiled at her. “Thanks.”</p><p>“It’s nothing. You ready?” He knew exactly what she meant, getting back into fighting position. </p><p>The second that the three guys rushed towards them, they were ready, fighting as if they were a part of one unit. They had no idea that Mr. LaRusso was watching them fight, completely in awe of the way that they were working together. This was the type of connection that he’d seen between Robby and Sam while they were learning the wheel technique, but amplified times a million. They were doing really well for a minute or two, until the third guy got behind Evelyn, pulling her into a chokehold.</p><p>“You know, it’s clear that you haven’t learned your lesson, Robby. Maybe we need to give your girl a little something to remember us by.” Cruz pulled out a switchblade, making Evelyn’s eyes widen. She definitely didn’t put ‘threatened with a knife by Robby’s former partners in crime’ on that day’s bingo card.</p><p>“Get your hands off of her,” Robby growled, his jaw tense and his eyes hard. “You won’t like what I’ll do to you if you don’t let Ev go <em> right now. </em>”</p><p>This was a protective side of Robby that Evelyn had never seen before. She was usually the one threatening people on his behalf. Despite the situation, it was kind of nice to have the roles be reversed. To know that someone was looking out for her for a change.</p><p>“I don’t think we will.” Trey smiled at Robby, and gestured for Cruz to move even closer. “I know that hurting you won’t do shit, but hurting her will.”</p><p>The noise that came out of Robby’s mouth as he launched himself towards Cruz, and punched him in the face so hard that he could actually feel Cruz’s nose snap, was a cross between a growl and a snarl. Evelyn quickly put her arm up to block the knife, but, as Cruz fell to the ground, he sliced it diagonally down the side of Evelyn’s left arm, making her cry out in pain.</p><p>She spluttered, and let out a string of English and Italian curse words that actually made Daniel’s hair curl slightly at the ends. He decided that it was probably time to intervene. Daniel jumped down into the sand, landing right in front of Evelyn. “Let her go.” She was still struggling with the chokehold, the blood streaming down her arm and onto her hand combined with the arm around her neck making her dizzy. </p><p>“Alright, Grandpa. Let’s do it.” Trey put his arms up and started to fight Daniel, Cruz crawling up off of the ground and clutching at his nose.</p><p>Robby immediately ran towards Evelyn, stomping on the guy who was holding her’s foot long enough that he let her go. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and almost carried her out of the way of the fight. They both knew that Daniel had it covered, and Robby didn’t care about the fight at all. He didn’t care about anything except for the fact that she was hurt.</p><p>“Ev, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” Robby glanced down at the deep gash on her arm, and almost passed out at the sight of her blood. He was fine with blood normally, but seeing hers was different.</p><p>She noticed the look on his face, and decided that it was a good idea if both of them sat down. As hard as Evelyn tried to suppress it, a tear slipped down her face. She quickly wiped it off on her right shoulder, not wanting to let on to Robby that she was in pain. He already felt guilty enough. </p><p>“Hey.” Robby noticed the tear, and kissed right where it had streaked down her face. “Don’t try and be fine just because I’m here. If you need to cry because you’re hurt, then that’s okay. Crying doesn’t make you any less strong.” His reassurances made her lip twitch, and then another tear fell down. Then another. Then she was sobbing into her knees, the tears streaming down her face as the blood streamed down her arm. “I’m so sorry, princess.” Robby murmured into her neck, placing soft kisses on it in an attempt to make her feel better. “I’m sorry that you’re hurt.”</p><p>She responded by leaning closer into him, feeling his hand move off of her waist and into her tangled hair. He kept apologizing and kissing her neck and tear-streaked face until Daniel ran over to them. “Evelyn, are you okay?”</p><p>She looked up at Daniel, eyes still brimming over. “I’m not fine, but I will be.”</p><p>“That’s my girl. Come on. Let’s go.” Robby helped her stand up, and walk back to her car.</p><p>Let’s just say that car ride wasn’t a particularly fun one. Evelyn’s head was still resting on Robby’s shoulder, the loss of blood making it hard for her to sit up normally. There was an extra tank top in the backseat that Daniel gently placed on her left arm, instructing Robby to keep pressure as he drove to the emergency room.</p><p>“You really don’t need to take me to the ER. It’s just a little cut. I’ll be fine.” Evelyn protested. It was actually a big cut, but the idea of the emergency room freaked her out. She didn’t want to put that kind of financial pressure on her mom. </p><p>He shook his head, not taking his eyes off the road. “We don’t know where that knife has been. It could get infected.” She didn’t particularly like the idea of an infected cut on her arm, so she backed down.</p><p>“I’m so sorry.” Robby said yet again, but she waved him off.</p><p>“Babe, it’s not your fault that I got knifed.” The word knife sent a burning pain through the cut. She hissed quietly, the pain making it hard to remember what she wanted to say. “It’s what’s-his-name’s fault.”</p><p>“Cruz?”</p><p>“All three of them, but yeah. It’s definitely not your fault, though.” She shut her eyes tightly, trying not to start crying again. “You would’ve been the one to get knifed if I wasn’t there.”</p><p>“Can I ask you to stop using the word ‘knifed,’ Evelyn?” Daniel interjected.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>“I would rather it have been me who got…” Robby thought for a second, not wanting to use the word knifed either. “I would rather it have been me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”</p><p>“I’m f-” Yet another wave of pain flooded Evelyn’s system, making her gasp and reach across her body for Robby’s left hand.</p><p>“Is there anything I can do?” Robby asked again, deeply concerned.</p><p>Evelyn really wanted him to kiss her, but she wasn’t about to suggest that with Mr. LaRusso in the front seat. “Nope. I’m fine.”</p><p>“Not even this?” He knew exactly what the look on her face meant, so he leaned in and kissed her. As much as she wanted to break away and say something, the feeling of his lips on hers got the better of her. Daniel pointedly ignored them, turning up the music on her radio and keeping his eyes on the road. He figured that she’d just gotten attacked with a knife. If she wanted to kiss her boyfriend on the way to the emergency room, that wasn’t his place to stop her.</p><p>And kissing her boyfriend on the way to the emergency room she was. The adrenaline caused by the fight was still coursing through her, making her kiss him back in a way that they’d only done in the privacy of her room before. Robby wasn’t really complaining, though. His left hand was still keeping gentle pressure on her wound, but the way that he was kissing her was anything but gentle.</p><p>Daniel pulled into the parking lot in front of the emergency room, making Evelyn finally break away from Robby. “That actually helped a lot.” She admitted, as the pain began to return. “Made me forget what was happening for a second.”</p><p>“Well, I can do that anytime.” He winked at her, and then started helping her out of the car and into the emergency room. Thankfully the bleeding had started to slow down with the constant pressure, but Daniel still insisted that she go inside and get it looked at.  She tried to protest that they were making too much of a fuss, but neither Robby or Daniel was hearing any of it. The last thing that any of them wanted was for her wound to get infected, or to not heal properly.</p><p>Two waiting rooms, a hospital bracelet and gown, and a million pages of paperwork later and she was finally getting wheeled back to the examining room. She hated the wheelchair, but one glance from Robby and she decided it wasn’t worth it. He was the one pushing her wheelchair, glaring at anyone who dared get within 15 feet of her. Protective Robby Mode had been activated, and it was definitely not going away anytime soon. He’d already let her get hurt that day. He wasn’t going to let anyone else hurt her ever again.</p><p>“So, Evelyn, what brings you in today?” A doctor looked up from her clipboard, and immediately noticed the big cut on her arm. “Oh.”</p><p>“Yup. Got knifed.” Her words earned a sigh from Daniel.</p><p>“You ‘got knifed?’” The doctor, whose name was Freya, asked. “Do we need to get the police involved?”</p><p>“That’s your decision, babe.” Evelyn looked over at Robby.</p><p>He shook his head. “No, that’s definitely yours. You’re the one that got hurt.”</p><p>“But you know them,” she insisted. “They were your friends.”</p><p>Freya’s eyes darted back and forth between them, finally landing on Daniel. He looked just as confused as she did, but he decided to throw his hat in the ring. “Evelyn, you should tell the police about what happened. They attacked you with a knife.”</p><p>“Okay.” She took one last glance at Robby, who nodded. Trey and Cruz used to be his friends, but they’d hurt Evelyn. He had no hesitations about sending them to prison anymore.</p><p>Daniel decided that while he was in the business of putting his opinion out there, he might as well say one last thing. “Can we get a plastic surgeon to look at her arm?”</p><p>Evelyn immediately shook her head. “I’m fine. Anyways, if it leaves a scar I’ll just look more badass.”</p><p>Nobody knew what to say to that.</p><p>So, Evelyn pulled out her phone. “I should probably text my brother and tell him where I am.” She typed with her right hand, her left arm being examined by Freya.</p><p>
  <b>Demetri</b>
</p><p>I’m in the ER<br/>Can you come here</p><p>What happened???</p><p>Um</p><p>Don’t ‘um’ me!<br/>Why are you in the emergency room?</p><p>Kinda got attacked with a knife?</p><p>Oh, I see.<br/>That’s not funny</p><p>I’m not joking<br/>Tried to fight some guys who were about to beat up Robby and they pulled a knife on me</p><p>How am I related to you again?<br/>I would never try and fight someone who had a knife</p><p>Yeah whatever I’m the family disappointment<br/>Are you coming or not?</p><p>I’ll be there</p><p>Okay</p><p>Evelyn put the phone down with a smile. While she was texting Demetri, Mr. LaRusso had finished up the paperwork. Freya was standing in front of her, holding a large needle. She noticed Evelyn’s eyes widen, and quickly reassured her. “This is just to numb your arm before we begin stitching it up.”</p><p>Evelyn grimaced, and then turned to Robby. “Yay. Stitches.”</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Stop apologizing. It isn’t your fault.” She saw that he was about to protest, but she cut him off. “Robby. Stop.”</p><p>“Fine. I’ll stop apologizing. Can I thank you for totally saving my ass yet again, though?” Robby asked.</p><p>“You hit Cruz for me, though. You were the one who saved my ass. That knife c-” She winced hard as the needle entered her skin, and then was removed. “I could’ve been hurt way worse if you weren’t there.”</p><p>“Of course I’d hit him for you.” Robby kissed her cheek gently. “Nobody hurts my girl and gets away with it.”</p><p>Evelyn’s heart melted at his affirmations. She didn’t even realize that Freya had been stitching up her arm the entire time until she looked down, and noticed the neat line of sutures trailing down the now-closed wound. “Those look nice. Thanks.”</p><p>Freya smiled at her as she put the bandage over them. “Thank you, Evelyn.” Nobody else complimented the person who stitched up their knife wound.</p><p>There were a few more forms to fill out, and then Demetri finally showed up. Evelyn was the first person to notice him, and she beamed. “Hey!”</p><p>“A KNIFE WOUND, EV?” Demetri looked aghast as he stared down at her bandaged arm. “YOU GOT STABBED?”</p><p>“I was not <em> stabbed </em>! It was more like… sliced,” she corrected indignantly. “I’m okay now, though.”</p><p>Demetri held out his hands to her. “Stand up.”  </p><p>Evelyn’s face scrunched up in confusion. “I’m not standing up. I just got sliced!”</p><p>“Stand up!”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>Demetri glared at her. “I want to hug my idiot sister who could’ve died today!”</p><p>“Oh.” Evelyn took both of his hands, and then let herself get pulled into his arms. “I’m sorry for scaring you, but I promise that I’m okay.”</p><p>“You could’ve <em> died </em>,” he repeated, hugging her tightly.</p><p>“I didn’t, though.” Evelyn smiled as she reassured him. “I’m not dying anytime soon.”</p><p>Demetri heard very familiar footsteps approaching, and he blanched. “Yeah, I’m not too sure about that.”</p><p>“EVELYN MARIE DI ANGELO!”</p><p>“Shit.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yeah... sorry about that miss evelyn.<br/>(is it bad that comparatively this is one of the least bad things that happens to her?)<br/>ALSO THE LINE "She didn't want to disrespect the dojo but she was ready to disrespect some people" is arguably one of the best i've ever written</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's Evelyn and Robby's two month anniversary &lt;3</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw: evelyn being traumatized from getting slashed with a knife. flashbacks.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, babe.” Evelyn walked into Robby’s room at the LaRusso’s, a big smile on her face. “Happy two months.”</p><p>“Happy two months!” Robby walked up to her, and kissed her on the lips, then on her cheek, then on her scar. He’d made a point of kissing the scar each time that she saw him. Robby felt terrible that she got hurt in the first place, and it always made her smile. “Can I thank you again for quite literally taking a knife for me?”</p><p>“I take knives for all my boyfriends.” Evelyn teased, lacing her fingers through his long brown hair. “Don’t start feeling too special.”</p><p>Robby’s eyes were shining as he looked at her. “How many boyfriends do you have again?”</p><p>“Three. You” - she beamed at him - “Eduardo from the Tech Town, and some guy named after Patrick Swayze.”</p><p>“Oh.” Robby moved even closer to her, pulling her in by her waist. “Do all of your other boyfriends kiss you like I do?”</p><p>“I’d have to test that theory.” She stood slightly on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. His hands trailed down her body, finally ending up with one in each of her back pockets. This was something that he’d only started doing recently, but something that she didn’t mind one bit. The way that he was kissing her was so intoxicating that she could barely suppress the gasp that escaped her as his lips trailed down her neck, and <em> that’s definitely going to leave a mark, </em>and then his lips were back on hers, and she couldn’t think about anything else-</p><p>“Oh, my God.” Sam instantly clapped her hands over her eyes, backing up so quickly that she almost tripped and fell over. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve knocked.”</p><p>Robby took his hands off of Evelyn, kissing her one last time before turning to Sam. “What’s going on?” The only embarrassment he was letting on at Sam walking in on them was in the form of a slight red tinge in his ears. Evelyn, however, was trying so hard not to laugh that she couldn’t even speak.</p><p>“I was just coming to tell you that my dad’s on his way home, and he’s gonna want an update on our training for today. He’s been spending so much time with Demetri lately that he hasn’t really worked with us.” Sam explained to Evelyn.</p><p>“How <em> is </em> Dem doing with the whole karate thing? He probably keeps complaining about how he’s not good at it, and how he has a signed note from our mother excusing him from physical activity, or whatever he’s even doing.” Evelyn rolled her eyes at the thought of him actually showing Mr. LaRusso that note he made their mom sign.</p><p>“He’s… well…” Robby pursed his lips.</p><p>“Oh. Great.” Evelyn knew exactly what that look meant. “I feel like karate would be really good for him, if he would just stop complaining and learn. I’m always so worried about him getting beat up when I’m not around.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. We’ve got him.” Sam reassured her. “We’re actually going to the mall tomorrow. Do you want to come?”</p><p>“Nah. I should probably go back to the dojo instead. I’ve got two weeks worth of training to catch up on.” A slight burn seared through her scar at the continued memory, making her wince.</p><p>“Hey.” Robby reached for her arm, and gently traced his fingers down her arm. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine.” This was a lie, and all three of them knew it. Her phone buzzed twice, so she pulled it out and looked at it.</p><p>
  <b>Tory</b>
</p><p>Get your ass over here!!<br/>Now!!!</p><p>Okay</p><p>Evelyn put the phone back in her pocket. “Duty calls. I’ll see you later?”</p><p>“I’m meeting you at your house, right?” She nodded. “Okay, cool. I have an idea of what we should do.”</p><p>“Oh? What is it?”</p><p>“You’ll see.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Evelyn’s heart pounded as she walked into the dojo. This was the first time that she’d been since her attack. As hard as she tried to pretend like nothing was wrong for Robby’s sake, getting attacked with a knife by one of his old friends was really upsetting. She couldn’t stop thinking about what would’ve happened if she didn’t think to put up her arm to protect herself. If the knife had gone just a few inches downwards. Demetri was right. She could’ve died.</p><p>The only thing that helped her feel slightly better was the fact that Cruz had been sent to prison. Daniel had convinced her to talk to the police, and since Robby had a video of the attack, the trial moved quickly. Trey, Cruz, and the guy who choked her were now in prison for assault with a deadly weapon (along with a host of other things). </p><p>The stitches had gotten removed the day before and the cut had pretty much healed, but there was still a scar where the knife had sliced through her skin. She thought that it would fade to white, but it had faded to a deep red, with white tinges along the outside. While it might’ve been considered a battle scar, it was one that she definitely wanted to hide. Even though there were long sleeves on the gi, she hated how the end of the scar still peeked out. </p><p>Miguel was the first one to notice it. Of course they’d seen each other since her attack, but her sleeves had always completely covered it, and she’d never brought it up. “What happened to your arm?”</p><p>“It’s nothing.” All she wanted was to not talk about it, but he wouldn’t let it go.</p><p>“Are you okay?” His words quickly drew the attention of Tory. Miguel might’ve been a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them. “Is this why you haven’t been here? Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>“Miguel, it’s fine.” Evelyn pulled her sleeve even further down, but Tory picked up on what was happening.</p><p>“Did somebody hurt you?” Tory looked up at Evelyn, asking permission with her eyes before revealing the full extent of her scar. A small gasp came from Tory’s lips as she saw it, and Miguel’s eyes widened.</p><p>The scar was about four inches long, and it was slightly jagged from Cruz’s hand shaking while inflicting it on her. “Robby and I got into a fight with some of his old friends the day we went to the beach club. They got me into a chokehold, and… Well, one of them had a knife.” She bit her lip hard, trying not to let herself show any emotion.</p><p>Tory wrapped her arm around Evelyn’s waist, and Evelyn gratefully leaned her head on Tory’s shoulder. “I’m really glad that you’re okay.”</p><p>Johnny noticed her exposed scar as he walked past the group. “What happened?”</p><p>“I got into a fight about two weeks ago, and one of the guys had a knife. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. My mom basically put me on house arrest, which is why I haven’t been here.” This was true. Marie was so terrified that someone would attack her daughter with a knife that she basically hadn’t let her out of arm’s reach since it happened. Evelyn protested, saying that her sensei would want her to come back, but Marie said that what her sensei wanted didn’t matter. Evelyn knew better than to argue with her. She’d finally gotten through to Marie the day before, saying that she needed to know how to defend herself in case anything like that ever happened again.</p><p>Her sensei’s eyes widened. “That’s messed up. Everybody knows that you don’t bring a knife to a fistfight unless the guy deserves it, and there’s no way that you did.”</p><p>She grimaced, still leaning on Tory. “Yeah.”</p><p>He could see that she was upset, so he quickly came up with an idea. “Listen up, nerds! Change of plans. We’re gonna wear our other gis today.” Everyone nodded, and then started changing.</p><p>“Why are we changing?” Miguel asked.</p><p>“Our other gis don’t have long sleeves.” Johnny smiled reassuringly at her. “I don’t want di Angelo to be afraid of showing everyone that not even an asshole with a knife can stop her.”</p><p>Her grimace turned into a big, real smile. “Thanks, Sensei.”</p><p>Standing in the bathroom was hard. All she could see in the mirror was her scar, the memories making it sting slightly. As hard as she tried to push the memories away, they quickly overtook her.</p><p>
  <em> There was an arm around her neck, holding onto her tightly. She had to stand on her tiptoes so that her feet even connected with the ground, since the arm was so much taller than her. Cruz was walking even closer to her, his fingers wrapped around a switchblade. He exchanged words with Trey, and then nodded.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Robby launched himself towards Cruz and punched him in the face. Evelyn instinctively put up her arm to protect her heart, but pain tore through her as the knife tore down her arm. She looked down, almost passing out at the sight of her blood, but there was no time for that. She had to focus on the fight in front of her, and the arm that was still wrapped tightly around her neck. Robby came up to the guy that was holding her, overtook him, and then pulled her out of the way. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Moving was painful, but she finally collapsed next to him out of the way of the fight. The pain was still unbearable, though. Even though she tried not to let on the fact that she was hurting, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. The only thing that made her feel a single bit better was the fact that Robby was right there, kissing away each tear that streamed down her face and promising that he would never let her get hurt again. </em>
</p><p>She took a deep breath, and pulled up the sleeve of her training gi. Before she could stop herself or send any more doubt through her mind, she changed into her competition gi and opened the door of the bathroom. There were a few gasps from the new recruits as they saw the scar on her arm, but she didn’t let that dissuade her, or shake her pride.</p><p>Miguel smiled as he saw her come out of the bathroom, a determined look on her face. Their sensei was right. Not even an asshole with a knife could stop Evelyn di Angelo.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>That night, one of Robby’s hands was holding hers, and the other was punching a code into a gate that both of them knew they shouldn’t be behind. “How do you know the gate code? I know you don’t live here.”</p><p>He shot her a signature Robby Keene smirk. “Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”</p><p>She figured that she definitely didn’t want to. Robby led her past the gate, through the rows of really expensive-looking houses, and all the way up a large hill. He didn’t say a word as they walked, he just kept holding onto her hand. When they finally got up the hill, he took the bag off of his shoulder, which had a blanket and food in it.</p><p>She was slightly out of breath from the climb, since she’d taken a two-week break from working out. She’d basically taken a two-week break from her entire life after the attack. Robby was the only one other than Demetri and her mom who knew about what happened before that afternoon, and he was the only one that she wanted to tell. She didn’t even tell Sam. Everyone would just want to talk about how she got it, or call her scar badass, but that’s not what she wanted. She just wanted to forget about it, but it was impossible when a reminder of her attack was stretching from her wrist almost to the middle of her forearm.  </p><p>Evelyn had definitely been having nightmares. They’d started to grow less frequent as the scar healed and she tried to move on, but she still woke up at least once a night in a cold sweat, the knife slashing down her arm. The only thing that made it slightly better was Robby. He’d noticed that she was active on social media around the same time every night, and had started texting her then.</p><p>
  <b>Ev</b>
</p><p>Hey</p><p>Hey<br/>What’s going on?</p><p>Just saw that you were on Instagram<br/>Can’t sleep?</p><p>Nope</p><p>Me neither</p><p>What are you thinking about?</p><p>My mom<br/>What about you?</p><p>You know </p><p>I know<br/>Is your arm hurting?</p><p>Thankfully, no<br/>Just my brain</p><p>Is there anything that I can do?</p><p>Just be here</p><p>Of course</p><p>The texts turned into phone calls, which turned into Robby sneaking in through her bedroom window each night and leaving each morning before the sun went up. They didn’t really talk. They didn’t need to. He just held her in his arms, neither of them ever wanting him to let go. Evelyn was always the first one to fall asleep. She didn’t know this, but it was because Robby wouldn’t let himself fall asleep until he knew that she was okay.</p><p>“What are we doing here, Robby?” Evelyn wasn’t complaining about getting to spend time with him. She was just fairly confused about why they’d broken into a gated community, and were now sitting on a very tall hill.</p><p>Robby checked the time on her phone. “Just wait a few minutes. You’ll see.” He started unpacking the bag, which contained all of their favorite snacks, water, and cannolis from Antonio and Francesca’s.</p><p>Those were the very first things that she noticed. “You went to Antonio and Francesca’s?”</p><p>“Of course I did. They were a little disappointed that I didn’t bring you, and I probably should’ve. If not just to translate all of the Italian.”  </p><p>“I’m pretty sure I know what they were saying.” What she thought wasn’t that far off, actually. A lot of their comments were along the lines of ‘he’s very handsome,’ and ‘we trust him with our girl’s heart.’ This was high praise. Antonio and Francesca had known Evelyn since she was a toddler. Their approval meant a lot to Evelyn, and she knew that she had it.</p><p>“What were they saying?” Robby asked.</p><p>“Probably that you’re too pretty,” she teased. He looked slightly taken aback, because he definitely didn’t see himself like that. Attractive, maybe. But not pretty. “You’re not leaving any for the rest of us.”</p><p>“I think there’s plenty left, at least for you.” Robby leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek. </p><p>Evelyn blushed profusely, and then tried to reach for a cannoli, but he took her hand instead. “Babe, what’s going on?”</p><p>Now Robby was the one blushing as he remembered exactly what he was about to do. “I have something to say, and I want you to just let me say it before you say anything.”</p><p>“Oh. Okay.” Evelyn was definitely a little confused, and he could tell.</p><p>“Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. It’s just…” Robby shook his head, looking at her like she was the only person in the entire world. “I don’t even know how to put the way I feel about you into words. Let’s just say that these last two months with you have been the happiest of my entire life. I never really thought that I would actually care about someone, you know? I thought that I was just too… I don’t know. Too damaged to care about someone. But, then I met you. Meeting you, getting to know you, and being your boyfriend, made me realize that I’m not too damaged to care about someone. Because I care about you. I care about you so much that I think there’s another word that I could use to describe how I feel.”</p><p>Evelyn’s heart was pounding out of her chest as she looked at him. She knew exactly how she felt. She’d never been great with feelings, but these were easy to identify. If he said what she thought he was about to, she would absolutely say it back.</p><p>“Using that word scares me a lot, though. You know how hard it is for me to let someone in. But, now that I’ve let you in, I never want to let you back out. Because I…” Robby struggled with himself for a second, which she could clearly see.</p><p>“Babe, if you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to. I understand that it’s hard.” She reached out, and laced his fingers with hers. “Please don’t feel like you have to say something just because we’ve been dating for two months, or because you think I want you to say it.”</p><p>“I just don’t want you to leave me for some well-adjusted guy who can talk about his feelings,” he admitted.</p><p>“How many times do I have to say this?” Evelyn asked, smiling softly at him. “I don’t want some well-adjusted guy who can talk about his feelings. I want you.”</p><p>Fireworks exploded the second that their lips met. Actual fireworks, that is. She quickly broke away from him, the biggest smile of childlike wonder on her face as she saw that he’d found the perfect spot for them to watch the fireworks display that was going on at the country club next door. </p><p>As Evelyn leaned into Robby’s embrace, she could’ve sworn she heard him whisper “I love you” into her hair.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>The next day, Sam was sitting on her couch and roasting marshmallows after their fight with Cobra Kai at the mall. Sam was honestly really proud of herself. She’d protected Demetri from five Cobras, including Hawk, with only Robby’s help. She’d promised Evelyn that she would make sure that Demetri was okay. So, she did. </p><p>Sam upheld the Girl Code by looking out for her best friend’s brother, but she broke the Girl Code when she did a little too much looking at her best friend’s boyfriend.</p><p>“Still up, too?” Robby walked into the living room, and noticed her sitting there. </p><p>“Too much adrenaline.” Sam was still holding a stick with a now slightly-burnt marshmallow on it, so she took it out of the fire. “Do you want a s’more?”</p><p>“I never say no to free marshmallows.” He sat down next to her, smiling as he noticed what she was doing. “Whoa. Are you making a s’more with a peanut butter cup?”</p><p>“I call them ‘Sam-mores.’” Evelyn used to think that name was cute, but now it just kind of made her feel sick. Neither Robby nor Sam noticed that she’d just walked in, and she didn’t want them to notice. She felt slightly bad for spying on them. But, Sam was definitely flirting. She wanted to see how it played out. “I’m kind of a genius.”</p><p>Her heart twisted when she noticed the way that Robby was looking at Sam. He was looking at her the way that she looked at him, and they were- <em> Ugh. </em> Evelyn was thankful that her complete and utter shock at Robby flirting with Sam kept her quiet. All she could do was stare at them as they blew out a marshmallow together in the most disgustingly sappy manner that they possibly could. </p><p>Then they were looking into each other’s eyes.</p><p>Then Sam was kissing him. </p><p>Sam was <em> kissing </em> him. </p><p>Robby instantly pulled away, his heart pounding. “We shouldn’t have done that.”</p><p>With his words, Evelyn decided that it was time to reveal herself. “Yeah. You shouldn’t have.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i'm sorryyyyyyyyyy<br/>i didn't WANT to do this<br/>but alas.<br/>here we are. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn and Robby have a talk about what she just witnessed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Robby’s eyes widened as he turned to face the figure of his girlfriend, her eyes watery and her lower lip trembling. “Ev, I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn glared at Sam, before stalking away without another word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.” Robby instantly went after her, leaving Sam behind on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s head had fallen into her hands, her heart pounding just as much as his was. She knew that she shouldn’t have done that. She knew that it had hurt Evelyn, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t get the feeling of Robby’s lips on hers out of her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ev, come on. Stop. Stop, please. Just let me explain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is there to explain, Robby?” Evelyn didn’t even turn around to face him. She couldn’t let him see her cry. He knew, though. He knew from the way that her hands were curled, and the way that she was trying to suppress the slight shake in her shoulders. “You cheated on me. You kissed Sam.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t kiss her, though. She kissed me.” Robby protested, wanting nothing more in the world than to turn back time and change what happened. “Ev, I’m with you. I swear that I don’t like Sam. I like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn turned around to face him. She didn’t say anything for a minute. She just stood there, staring at him, trying to find it in her heart to believe him. All she wanted was to believe him, to be able to move on from this. If it was anyone else, she might have been able to. If </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone else </span>
  </em>
  <span>had kissed him, they would have survived this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, it was Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of everyone, it was Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam was the person that Evelyn felt most insecure about in the entire world. They’d been going head to head in practically everything since they were kids, and Sam always won. Sam was the pretty one. Sam was the perfect one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam was the one that he was living with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course Evelyn wanted him to be happy. Of course she wanted him to be in a good living situation, of course she didn’t want him to be starving, alone in his apartment. But, as long as he was living under Sam’s roof, she would be insecure about their relationship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, she did what she had to do. She couldn’t be with him while he was living with Sam, and she would rather die than force him to choose between her and being in a safe living situation. “I don’t think this is gonna work.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s not gonna work?” Robby knew what she was saying, but he needed her to confirm it. He needed her to say what she was about to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another tear slid down her face as his eyes met hers. “I think we need to break up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby’s face fell, but he forced himself to quickly recover. “We don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to break up. You have absolutely nothing to be worried about when it comes to Sam.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, but I do. I’ve been worried about Sam practically since the day we got together,” she admitted. “Tonight just confirmed that I have something to worry about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” was all he could say. Regret was all he could feel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just…” Evelyn sighed, wiping off her face with a finality that broke his heart. “I don’t want to fight every time I see you and Sam talking. I don’t want to spend every waking hour wondering if you’re with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t have to. I’ll do anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could she tell him that the only thing he could do was move out, something she absolutely did not want him to do? She needed him to be happy and safe more than she needed to be with him. So, she kept on doing what she had to. “This is too much drama.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’m not worth the drama?” He gestured to the two of them. “We’re not worth it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are worth it. I just… I don’t want this to get any worse and risk losing you altogether. If we keep going the way we’re going, something’s gonna happen, and we’re gonna fight, and we’re never gonna speak to each other again. I don’t want you out of my life forever. You’re too important to me.” They both knew that she was trying to convince herself at least as much as she was trying to convince him. “At least this way, we can still be friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby walked up to her, his hands hanging loosely at his sides. “Can I kiss you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, having to force herself to not start crying again as his lips met hers. Robby thought that this would change her mind about ending them, but it just cemented in her mind that she was making the right decision. As hard as she tried, all she could feel was Sam’s lip gloss clinging to him, all she could smell was Sam’s perfume on his clothes. Evelyn knew that she wouldn’t be able to look at him or kiss him without wondering whether Sam was looking at him or kissing him, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Evelyn finally pulled away, wiping her face one more time as she got into her car and drove back home. Well, she planned on driving home. That’s not what happened, though. She was crying so hard as she drove down the street in front of the LaRusso’s that she figured driving was no longer safe, at least for the moment. So, she pulled over and checked her phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first contact in her phone was the worst possible one she could’ve texted, yet that’s exactly what she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby just cheated on me with Sam</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What???</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m so sorry, Ev</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Wanna come over and talk about it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel was the only person who could even kind of understand the hurt that she was feeling. Everyone knew that he was still in love with Sam. He was the only other person who cared about the fact that her and Robby were together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All Evelyn could think of as she drove was whether Robby had ever cared about her, or whether he was just using her to get close with Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby was standing in the guest house, regretting every single thing that he did. He shouldn’t have gone into the living room. He shouldn’t have sat next to Sam. He shouldn’t have blown out that marshmallow with her, and he definitely shouldn’t have kissed her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, he didn’t kiss Sam. She kissed him. He pulled away. But, no matter what happened, he’d hurt Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like she was about to hurt him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn took a deep breath before she knocked on Miguel’s apartment door, hands shaking. She was really starting to rethink her decisions, but then the image of Robby kissing Sam ran through her head. No matter what happened between her and Miguel that night, it wasn’t cheating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was better than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Miguel looked somber when he opened the door. He didn’t really know how to act around post-cheating Ev, if he should be trying to make her laugh, or if he should just let her talk. But, he could see that she’d been crying. Maybe talking was best. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She followed him to his couch, and sat down right next to him. “I just went to talk to him, and I saw him with Sam, and then they were looking at each other, and then she kissed him. So, I broke up with him. It’s just… it was her. Out of everyone, he chose her over me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel reached for her hand to squeeze it, but she immediately recoiled when he got too close to her scar. “Hey.” His voice was gentle. “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” She took a deep breath and reached out, relaxing slightly as she felt his hand in hers. Miguel’s hand was safe. He was familiar. He would never hurt her, and she knew it. “I’m really sorry, Ev. About your arm, and what happened with Robby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine.” Evelyn was trying as hard as she could to act nonchalant and not bring the tears back, but she was deeply hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I actually have something that might help.” Miguel quickly stood up, and grabbed a tube of something that Evelyn couldn’t recognize off of the counter. He noticed the confused look, and held it out for her to see. “It’s for your scar. My mom said that it might make it less noticeable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really know about less noticeable at this point,” she joked, gesturing to it. “Look. It’s like half my arm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just let me try, okay?” It was just something in his eyes that made her nod, and hold out her arm. Miguel took it in his left hand, and with his right hand started rubbing the cream into it, using small and gentle circles. Evelyn’s eyes were on him the entire time, a feeling that he was pretending as hard as he could that he didn’t like. But, he did like it. There was a slight furrow in his brow, and he was biting his lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Evelyn wasn’t thinking about the scar on her arm or Robby anymore. She was thinking about the guy who was sitting right in front of her, the one who was rubbing scar cream into her arm, the one who was there. The one who wasn’t with Sam. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing.” Miguel shrugged. He gently set her arm down in her lap, before screwing the cap back on the tube and putting it on the coffee table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of your mom…” Evelyn moved slightly closer to him. “Where is she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s working, and my yaya’s at a poker game with church friends. Neither of them should be home until late. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I don’t want them to be here when I do this.” Evelyn leaned over, and kissed Miguel. His lips were soft, and his left hand was holding her face like she was the most precious thing in the entire world. The kiss was sweet, and far more gentle than she could’ve expected from someone who was taught, as she was, to strike hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled away slowly, a spark of electricity zinging through them as their eyes met. “Ev, what are we doing? What about Robby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to think about Robby?” Her eyes closed slightly, her breath dusting across his lips. “Or do you want to kiss me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel knew the answer to that question. He leaned back in, pulling Evelyn onto his lap without thinking twice. Her legs quickly wrapped around his back, and she leaned in and kissed him with every single bit of passion and heartbreak in her adrenaline-filled body. In Evelyn’s opinion, if Robby didn’t want to be the person whose lap she was sitting on, if he didn’t want to be the person whose hands were tangled in her long black hair, if he didn’t want to be the person kissing her like there was no tomorrow, that was his loss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s mine was racing as Miguel pulled her even closer, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, and the feeling of his kiss, like they were feelings that she’d always known. His hands were almost as soft as his lips were, but they had an unexpected strength and gentleness in the way that he held her. He was holding her like he never wanted to let go, which, in truth, he didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel had been ignoring an ever-growing crush on Evelyn since the day that she rejoined Cobra Kai, one that he’d only been suppressing because she was with Robby. But, she wasn’t with Robby now. She was with him. They both knew that this wasn’t just physical, as hard as they pretended that it was. Sure, they were currently kissing on his couch, but it was more than that. They had a connection that neither of them could explain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, neither of them heard Carmen unlocking and opening the front door. “Hi, Mi- Oh. Hi, Evelyn. Nice to see you.” Miguel’s ears turned bright red as Evelyn awkwardly slid off of his lap and turned to face his mother, who looked surprisingly calm. Carmen knew better than to say something to Miguel in front of Evelyn. He was definitely going to get a talking-to later, though. “I brought pizza if you want some.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you had work.” Miguel said, trying as hard as he could not to flee the scene. “You weren’t supposed to be home tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, they said that I’d already been on call enough this week, and sent me home.” Carmen held up the pizza boxes. “Miguel, come help me set the table. If you want to stay, Evelyn, you’re more than welcome to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn swallowed an uncomfortable laugh, forcing herself to be calm. “I’d love that. I’ll have to text my mom and tell her where I am first, though.” Unsurprisingly, when she opened her phone there were multiple texts from Demetri.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Demetri</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Find my iPhone says you’re at Miguel’s?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Why are you over there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m not cheating on Robby or anything. We broke up earlier</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sorry that you broke up but I don’t really care about your relationship drama</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Mom’s freaking out and wants to know when you’re coming home</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>She thinks that you’re getting stabbed again</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn’t get stabbed the first time but I promise that nobody’s hurting me</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Will it make Mom feel better if you tell her that Carmen’s here?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>She actually invited me to stay for dinner</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay now I care about your relationship drama</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You’re having dinner with Miguel’s mom?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I want you to know that I’m laughing at you, even though you can’t see me</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shut up, Demetri</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s Evelyn di Angelo for you, ladies and gentlemen</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Goes over to her now ex-boyfriend’s mortal enemy’s apartment for reasons that I really don’t want to know and ends up having dinner with his mother</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I hate you</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mom’s laughing at you, too</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, she’s not</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, she is</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’m laughing at Ev” -Mom</span>
</p><p>
  <span>See I thought you weren’t young enough to be considered my annoying little brother</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>APPARENTLY I WAS WRONG</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even Nacho’s laughing at you</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No!! Nacho is not laughing at me!!!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He would never</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He definitely is</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He’s making his little cat laughing noises</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tell my baby that I said hi and that I miss him</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nacho likes me more</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He knows that at least I’m not having dinner with my new boyfriend’s mom as our first date</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel’s not my boyfriend</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>And this is definitely not a date</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did you tell him that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We haven’t had a chance to have the “what are we” conversation yet</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I wanna know what Robby’s reaction to finding out that you and Miguel are something is</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You know him and Miguel already hate each other</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Now they’re fighting over you, too</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I want you to know that I’m flipping you off, even though you can’t see me</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Touche</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Have fun with Miguel’s mom</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I will</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about that.” Evelyn put her phone back in her pocket, and followed Miguel over to the dining room table, where he and Carmen had set up the pizza boxes. “Apparently my mom was freaking out. Ever since I got this” - she gestured to her arm - “she’s been extra worried.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carmen shook her head. “I completely understand. I’m already so worried about people hurting all of you using karate. Now there are people attacking kids with knives?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mama, it was just the one guy, and he’s in prison now.” Miguel reassured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn sighed quietly, making Miguel reach for her hand and squeeze it gently. She turned to him, giving him the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did you just hold my hand in front of your mother, Miguel Diaz? </span>
  </em>
  <span>look. He quickly realized that he should not have done that, but it was too late. Carmen had noticed. “So, how long have you two been dating?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them quite knew what to say. After a few seconds of tense silence, Carmen realized what that meant: they weren’t dating. Sitting there with her and eating pizza was the closest to a date that they’d gotten. Evelyn was the one to finally answer. “It’s complicated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you and Miguel are very cute together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, that was that. Carmen thought they were very cute together. Neither of them were super ready for another serious relationship, but they did want to see where this thing between them could go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Miguel</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hi</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Sorry I had to leave</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>My mom started freaking out again</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Don’t worry about it. I totally get overprotective moms</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, I’m sure you do</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>It was nice getting to see Carmen again. Even if it was like that</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah. Definitely did not expect her to be home that soon</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So… are we gonna talk about it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talk about it? Or talk about us?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is there a difference?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If you want there to be</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>What happened can be nothing, or it can mean something</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Honestly I don’t know what I want</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m definitely not ready for anything as serious as Robby and I were</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>It’s so soon</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We don’t have to be serious if you don’t want</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>We can be casual</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is casual possible for you?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Sam and I were still best friends while you were dating</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I know everything</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well that’s not terrifying or anything</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You know what I mean</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You literally fought Robby at the beach because he had the audacity to get driven by Sam to a party</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>A party that I invited him to</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m not the same person that did that</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah. I know</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I'm not the same person that invited him either</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I have a question </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoot</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Do you regret what happened tonight?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why would I?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because now stuff is different between us</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s true</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I don’t think I regret it, though</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>This is a very interesting conversation to be having over text</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would you rather call?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Actually yeah</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few seconds later, her phone rang. She picked it up on the first ring, smiling slightly as she put it to her ear. “Hey, Miguel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” His voice was quiet, and deeper than she remembered. She supposed that he was hiding the fact that he was talking to her at 12:30 in the morning from his aforementioned overprotective mother. “So, what does ‘casual’ mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed, feeling her breath buzz out of her lips. “I don’t know. I know that I’m not ready to get actual feelings involved, but I like hanging out with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you say hanging out, do you mean making out?” he asked teasingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m hot, and I just got out of a relationship that was the opposite of casual. Let me live my life.” Evelyn could hear him laugh quietly. “So, are you in? No strings attached?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No strings attached sounds good to me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked into the dojo the next day, her heart pounding. Evelyn had absolutely no idea what was going to happen with Miguel. He had to hang up pretty soon after that because of his mom, but they texted the rest of the night. Evelyn had no idea what her and Miguel’s new relationship would look like in practice, but she was ready to see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, di Angelo!” Her sensei gestured for her to follow him into his office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn closed the door behind her. “What’s going on, Sensei?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit down.” He pointed at the chair, where she begrudgingly sat down. “How long has Robby been living with LaRusso?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His tone was not one that Evelyn particularly enjoyed, so she was instantly defensive. “A few weeks. Did you just find out yesterday or something? Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked incredulous. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Evelyn shook her head, all of the anger she was feeling towards Robby for cheating on her coming out as she faced his dad. “You’re not allowed to get mad at me about this. If you wanted to know what was going on in Robby’s life, maybe you should’ve asked. Did you seriously not know that his mom ran out a few months ago, and nobody even knows where she is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was struck completely speechless. He knew that Shannon wasn’t exactly what some would call reliable, but he never expected that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was living alone with no rent money, no running water, and no food for at least a week. God knows how long this had been going on before he told me about it!” She smacked her hand down on the table, beyond furious at how he was acting. “I was doing everything I could to help him, but I’m only sixteen. I shouldn’t be worrying about whether Robby is going to be homeless or not, and he shouldn’t be worrying about that either. That’s his </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> job.” He looked like he’d been slapped. “I really can’t believe that you have the audacity to get mad because Mr. LaRusso, unlike you, actually cares about whether your son is alive.” Evelyn slammed the office door behind her as she stormed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sensei’s head dropped onto the table with a thud. He already felt terrible about what was happening with Robby, but her words just made it a thousand times worse. Did she really think that he didn’t care about whether Robby was alive? Did </span>
  <em>
    <span>Robby </span>
  </em>
  <span>really think that he didn’t care about whether Robby was alive?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The short answer was yes. The long answer was so much more complicated than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was fuming as she went to the back room, and started attacking the punching bag with all she had in her. She couldn’t believe that her sensei would call her into his office just to berate her for not updating him on his own son’s life. It wasn’t her job to parent Robby, even when they were together. That was his job, and he clearly wasn’t taking it seriously. She kicked the bag so hard at one point that it actually fell over, but that didn’t stop her from picking it back up and going again. Faces weren’t swimming through her head as she punched. Just feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anger towards Robby for cheating on her, towards her sensei for acting like she had betrayed him, towards Sam for kissing Robby, but mostly towards herself. She knew, deep down, that she was never going to compare to Sam. Evelyn used to think that Robby was different, that he would choose her over Sam, but now she knew that she was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was just like everyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Training that day was painful. Just as Evelyn thought that things couldn’t possibly get worse with her sensei, Mr. LaRusso stormed into the dojo. “What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her words alerted him to the fact that they had a visitor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He was immediately on edge, since Daniel looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>pissed.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Clearly something had happened. Something bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like you don’t know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take your shoes off the mat. You’re disrespecting my dojo.” Johnny said, advancing on Daniel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re seriously going to talk to me about disrespecting dojos after what you just did to mine?” Mr. LaRusso exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Johnny asked. “I didn’t do anything to your dojo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just like you didn’t slug one of my employees, huh?” Daniel replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sensei shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, part of me actually felt bad for you at one point, but you make it so easy to remember who the bad guy is in all of this.” Daniel snapped. “You call yourself a sensei? You don’t even know what a sensei is. A sensei mentors. A sensei elevates. He doesn’t teach destruction and disrespect!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already said I don’t know what you’re talking about, LaRusso. And you don’t know what you’re talking about either.” Johnny said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, I know you don’t… you don’t win the Medal of Honor by </span>
  <em>
    <span>stealing it.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Daniel looked absolutely broken. Evelyn hadn’t seen that look in his eyes since Mr. Miyagi died. She glanced at Hawk, who was picking at his belt, looking exceedingly guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sensei’s eyes darted around the room, trying to see if anybody knew what was going on. No matter what happened, Evelyn knew that her sensei had absolutely no hand in it. All at once, something clicked in Evelyn’s brain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She realized that Hawk stole Mr. Miyagi’s Medal of Honor, and something else. Disrespected Miyagi-Do somehow. No </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonder </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mr. LaRusso was so devastated. She knew exactly how much that Mr. Miyagi meant to him, after years of hearing him tell her and Sam stories about him. She couldn’t believe that Hawk would do this. Disrespecting Miyagi-Do was bad enough. But stealing the Medal of Honor? That was a new low. Evelyn scooted slightly away from Hawk, alerting him to the fact that she’d figured it out. She’d figured out what he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me tell you something about your sensei.” Daniel turned, now addressing the group. “He might teach you how to fight, but he doesn’t know a thing about what it takes to truly win at life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. L, please-” Evelyn started, but her sensei cut her off with a look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want to help yourselves before it’s too late, the doors of Miyagi-Do are wide open,” he announced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny finally stopped scanning the room at Daniel’s last words, and got right up in his face. “You think you can come in here and poach my students?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what are you gonna do about it?” Daniel challenged. “You know, I’m not gonna strike first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna be the bigger man.” Her sensei said proudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. We’ll see about that.” He turned, and stormed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second that Daniel started to drive away, Evelyn grabbed her bag, and followed him. “Where are you going, di Angelo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked apologetically at her sensei. It wasn’t his fault, and she knew it. But, she couldn’t be there anymore. So, Evelyn took one last look at Hawk, and echoed the fateful words she spoke to Miguel the first time that she quit. “I do karate because I want to be able to defend myself against bullies. Not because I wanna associate myself with them. I’m sorry, but trashing Miyagi-Do is something that I just can’t get past.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel stood there, watching her leave, his heart turning to stone. Evelyn had quit Cobra Kai once before, but he knew that it would take a lot more than an apology to Robby to bring her back this time. He didn’t know if there was anything that they could do to bring her back. Once Evelyn decided on something, there was absolutely no changing her mind, and it sure looked like her mind was made up. He decided that he’d give her a few hours, maybe a day, to calm down. Then they’d talk. Then she’d see reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she’d come back.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i'm so sorry (crying emoji that i can't do bc i'm on my computer)<br/>i didn't want to break up evelyn and robby but y'all knew this had to happen<br/>also uh. "no strings attached" are gonna be some famous last words. as we know, mr. diaz is not excellent at casual<br/>also carmen being an absolute icon about seeing evelyn and miguel together was so much fun to write.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evelyn takes Miguel to a Cobra Kai beach party.<br/>Spoiler alert: It ends badly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>warnings: it gets kinda spicy there with miguel... oops<br/>(the fact that i used to panic whenever i wrote the words "they kissed" and now i'm doing this hehehe)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel was wrong about her coming back, though. One car ride later, Evelyn stood in front of the gate leading to Miyagi-Do, more tentative than she’d felt in a while. Even if things were rocky with Sam and Robby, at least she would have Demetri. He’d been begging her to quit Cobra Kai and join Miyagi-Do since he took up karate last month, but she never thought anything of it. Not until today, when she finally quit Cobra Kai. Yes, she’d quit before. She knew that. But this was different. There was absolutely nothing that anybody could say or do to bring her back this time.</p><p>She finally steeled her nerves, and pushed open the door. The sight that awaited her took her breath away. Hawk had absolutely destroyed the place. It was clear that they’d already started cleaning up, but there was spray paint everywhere, and remnants of toilet paper hanging from the trees. Even the punching bag was laying on the floor, and it was ripped open. “Holy shit.”</p><p>Robby glanced up at her words. “Ev? What are you doing-” His eyes hardened as he noticed the group of Cobras standing behind her. “Come back for another beating?”</p><p>“Hey, Robby.” Mr. LaRusso’s words were gentle. Robby didn’t stop, though. He was just about to take a swing at Chris when Daniel shouted again. “Robby!”</p><p>“Come on! This is one of the guys who was beating on Demetri!” Robby exclaimed, gesturing angrily towards Chris. “Probably helped trash the dojo.”</p><p>“WHAT THE HELL, CHRIS? YOU BEAT UP DEMETRI?” Evelyn immediately turned on her friend, protective fury rising in her stomach. She’d put up with a lot since joining Cobra Kai, but if there was one thing that she could not abide by, it was people hurting Demetri. </p><p>She was about to punch Chris herself when Demetri ran up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling him away from him. “Please don’t.” </p><p>“But-”</p><p>Daniel took this opportunity to turn to Chris, silencing Evelyn. “If you want to say something, we’re listening.” </p><p>“We had nothing to do with what happened to your dojo.” Evelyn stood there, still wanting to throttle him, as Chris tried to explain himself. “But I am sorry about what happened at the mall. We just wanna learn Miyagi-Do karate.”</p><p>“I’d be careful about this, Mr. L, letting the Cobra Kais into Miyagi-Do. It’s like letting the wildlings behind the wall.” Demetri said.</p><p>“Really, Dem?” Evelyn couldn’t believe that he would say something like that. “You don’t want me here?”</p><p>Demetri’s eyes hadn’t left Chris. “I wasn’t talking about you.”</p><p>“But, didn’t the wildlings help Jon Snow win the Battle of the Bastards?” Daniel asked Demetri.</p><p>Demetri rolled his eyes. “I should’ve picked a different analogy.”</p><p>“We’re happy to have you.” Daniel started directing the new recruits to clean up the dojo, Evelyn helping Robby pick up toilet paper off of the ground.</p><p>They worked in silence for a while, until they accidentally reached for the same piece and their hands brushed against one another. Robby pulled his hand away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. “Sorry.”</p><p>“No, you’re good. Friends can do that, right?” Evelyn joked, feeling even more awkward when he didn’t laugh.</p><p>“Right.” Robby grimaced, and then started cleaning up his dojo again. </p><p><em> Great. </em>This is definitely not what Evelyn meant when she broke things off with them so they could be just friends. All she wanted was for him to stay in her life, even if it wasn’t in a romantic context. But, alas, things were clearly awkward between them. So, she decided to try again. “Robby?”</p><p>He didn’t want things to be awkward between the two of them any more than she did, but he was heartbroken, too. Robby didn’t want to kiss Sam. She kissed him. It really hurt that something he had absolutely no control of was the reason that his relationship fractured. “Yeah?”</p><p>“You said that Chris beat up Demetri. When did that happen?” She could see Robby’s eyes widen at her words, making it clear that there was something that he didn’t tell her.</p><p>Robby picked up a piece of toilet paper off of the ground, folding it into a few pieces before putting it in a trash bag. “Please don’t get mad at me for not telling you.”</p><p>“I won’t.”</p><p>“Hawk and a few of the Cobra Kais came after Demetri at the mall yesterday.” Robby could see that his words had an effect on her, so he instantly tried to backtrack. “I changed my mind. Please get mad at me for not telling you. Don’t go over there and-”</p><p>But, it was too late. Evelyn was walking away.</p><p>Miguel was standing outside of Miyagi-Do, trying to work up the courage to go in. He wanted to fix things with Evelyn so she would come back to Cobra Kai. Not just because she was one of the best fighters in the dojo, but because she was his… friend that he was in a casual relationship with. He didn’t think the boundaries of this relationship included referring to her as his girlfriend.</p><p>Evelyn pushed open the door, but immediately stopped when she saw Miguel. “Hey, Miguel. What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I came to get you back. You’re a Cobra. That’s where you belong.”</p><p>She scoffed. “No, it’s not. I don’t belong where people do stuff like what someone did to Miyagi-Do, and I definitely don’t belong with people that try and hurt Demetri.”</p><p>This was completely new news to Miguel, who had no idea of the events that preceded the trashing of Miyagi-Do. “What do you mean, ‘with people that try and hurt Demetri’? Who hurt Demetri?”</p><p>“Robby just told me that Hawk tried to beat Demetri up at the mall yesterday.” Evelyn pointed with her thumb back to where Robby was still picking up the remnants of his dojo.</p><p>“Hawk wouldn’t do that,” he said, instantly defending his best friend.</p><p>“Apparently he did.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “He’s also the person who trashed Miyagi-Do and stole the Medal of Honor.”</p><p>Miguel was taken aback by the onslaught of accusations that she was throwing at Hawk. “That’s not true, either.”</p><p>“Did you not see the look on his face when Mr. L came into the dojo?” She scoffed. “He looked stone cold guilty.”</p><p>“Why would Hawk trash Miyagi-Do? He has no good reason.”</p><p>“That Kreese guy’s gotten into his head.” Evelyn pointed out, which was true. Kreese had gotten into his head. “I’m happy that Hawk is confident and not getting bullied anymore, but he’s a completely different person than the Eli that I grew up with.”</p><p>She started to walk away again, but Miguel stopped her. “Just let me talk to him, okay? We can figure this out. You can come back to Cobra Kai.”</p><p>Evelyn’s eyes flicked over to where Robby and Sam were talking. She’d initially quit Cobra Kai because of what Hawk did to Miyagi-Do, but she now had ulterior motives for staying. Even though she didn’t want to admit this, she did want to keep an eye on their relationship. The one thing she wanted to admit even less than that percolated in her stomach each time she saw the two of them interacting. She thought that the starting of a new relationship with Miguel would help her get over Robby, but one look at Robby and she knew that it was an impossibility to forget about him. She still loved him, after all.</p><p>Miguel instantly recognized the look on her face for what it was. He knew that she wasn’t over Robby, either. Which he understood. It had been less than 24 hours since they broke up. So, he decided not to push the subject of her rejoining Cobra Kai any further. “I’m gonna go now, okay? I’ll talk to Hawk. We can figure this out.”</p><p>He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, before walking away.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Things were going surprisingly well for Evelyn. While she and Sam still hadn’t spoken, at least she and Robby were back on friendly terms. As each day passed, they both started to get pretty good at pretending that they didn’t still have feelings for each other.</p><p>Well, Robby was good at pretending. Evelyn was still sneaking longing glances at him each chance that she could get, her stomach recoiling in jealousy when she saw him and Sam leading warm-ups together, or him and Sam talking after training, or when she saw that Sam was giving him longing glances, too. Robby had actually started to fall for Sam, which broke Evelyn’s heart as she saw it happening. It was nothing like the way he fell for Evelyn, which was slow and gentle. The way he fell for Sam was quick, but it lacked some of the trust that he’d built up with Evelyn over their two month long relationship. Falling for her was easy, as Robby started to notice the way that Sam was looking at him. He didn’t want to make anything official with her, though. It was too soon.</p><p>Evelyn didn’t quite have the same feelings about the timing of her relationship with Miguel. Since there were no strings and no feelings, she didn’t really have any reservations about coming over to his apartment when he texted her one afternoon and said that his mom and yaya would actually both be out of the apartment. Both of them were still slightly scarred from the memory of Carmen walking in on them, but especially Miguel. The talking-to he’d gotten from his mother about how to treat a girl right was enough to dissuade him from talking to Evelyn completely, let alone inviting her over when he knew that nobody would be home.</p><p>Evelyn took this opportunity for a little bit of showing off, as some might say. She’d opted for an uncharacteristically form-fitting tank top that made Miguel’s eyes widen when he opened his door and saw her standing there. “Whoa. You look hot.”</p><p>“You’re not too bad yourself, Diaz.” Miguel was wearing objectively her favorite item of his clothing, which was a t-shirt that was so red that it was almost purple. “So, are you gonna invite me in, or are we gonna stand here all day?”</p><p>It was so easy to make Miguel flustered when she teased him, which was quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. Being around him brought out a different side of her, one that definitely wasn’t seen when she was with Robby. With Robby, she let him come to her. After all he’d been through, she was always the one to let him choose whether he wanted a hug, whether he wanted to kiss her, or not. With Miguel, of course she did the same thing, but they’d already had a talk about their boundaries and she knew that teasing him was completely within their limits.</p><p>Miguel responded by wrapping an arm around her, and pulling her into his apartment. <em> There we go, </em> Evelyn thought as he closed the door and then connected his lips to hers. Her hands moved their way back up to his hair, feeling him gasp slightly as she laced her fingers deep into his black locks. This just made her smile, knowing exactly the effect that she was having on him. To put it simply, Miguel Diaz was putty in her hands. And he knew it.</p><p>She had to keep herself from twitching as his hands moved from her waistline to her hips and started leading her to his room. This was escalating quickly, but the part of her that was saying <em> this is too fast, slow down, </em>was greatly overpowered by the part of her that never wanted him to stop. So, she kicked off her sandals as she sat down on his bed, feeling more and more comfortable and in control of the situation by the second. It was just Miguel. This was just casual. But, the feeling of comfort quickly slipped away as she felt her phone buzz. Once, then twice, then three times. She tried to ignore it, but she eventually broke away from the kiss, and pulled out her phone. </p><p>
  <b>Tory</b>
</p><p>We’re having a beach party at 5<br/>It’s just Cobras but everyone says it’s cool if you come <br/>You’re basically still one of us anyways</p><p>Sounds good<br/>Miguel’s probably gonna come with me</p><p>Miguel’s gonna come with you to the party? 😏<br/>I see the way he’s been looking at you <br/>Are you sure that nothing else is going on? </p><p>That’s funny</p><p>You didn’t deny it</p><p>Well</p><p>Are you hooking up with Miguel?</p><p>Do we have to use the term hooking up?</p><p>Answer the question!!!</p><p>Fine!<br/>Yes, then. Yes.</p><p>You just broke up with Robby omg</p><p>It’s not like we’re dating or anything!!<br/>It’s just casual. No feelings involved</p><p>I have so much respect for you right now<br/>I never thought you could do casual dating</p><p>Apparently I can</p><p>Is that why you’re driving him?<br/>Wait. Are you over there right now? Am I interrupting something?</p><p>Actually yeah<br/>But it’s fine</p><p>Go get some, then! I’ll see you at the party</p><p>You’re nasty</p><p>Evelyn put her phone back in her pocket, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “So, where were we?”</p><p>“I think we were here.” He leaned back in, capturing her lips with his. She could feel him deepen the kiss almost immediately, making her very glad that she brushed her teeth before she went over to his apartment. So, she decided to be a little forward. Evelyn removed her arms from around his neck, only to take his hands in hers. She then placed one hand on the outside of each thigh, on top of the fabric of her shorts.</p><p>Miguel, in turn, decided to be a little forward and break the kiss for long enough to take off his shirt. Evelyn’s eyes widened, and for a second he worried that he’d pushed her too far. This worry quickly flew away as she wrapped both of her legs around his back, pulling both his body and his lips down to meet hers. Miguel Diaz thought that he’d died and gone to heaven, honestly. The way that she was kissing him, the way that her fingers were tracing up and down his bare skin, was heaven. Being with her at all was heaven.</p><p>But, she wasn’t feeling heaven-like as she pulled away from him, choosing instead to kiss down his neck. He wasn’t particularly successful in hiding his reaction as he grasped at the fabric of her shorts, just making her smile. She made her way back up his neck, sucking so hard at the junction between his jawline and his neck that she could actually hear him hiss out a quiet <em> holy shit. </em> Evelyn moved back to where she could meet his eyes. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey.” Miguel’s breaths were shallow. “We- we should probably slow down.”</p><p>Evelyn instantly rolled out from under him, putting her head in her hands. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”</p><p>“It’s okay. Calm down. I just…” He looked over at her, and decided to be honest. “I wanted to stop now before things went further, before I didn’t want to stop.”</p><p>“Oh.” Evelyn looked up, definitely less embarrassed than she was a second ago. “I get that.” She stood up, picking up his shirt off of the floor and handing it to him. “Here. If you want this back.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Miguel put his shirt back on, then held out his hand to her. She took it, and used it to pull herself into his arms. Her head nestled right underneath his chin, her eyes closing out of instinct. This was far more intimate than anything they’d done this far, and they were quite literally making out in his bed minutes prior. This felt like something that actual, real couples did. Not them.</p><p>She woke up an hour later when her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. “Oh, no. Miguel. Wake up. We’re late.”</p><p>“What?” He jerked up immediately, somehow managing to get bedhead after only a quick nap. Evelyn hated how hot she found his messy hair. “Oh, shit. Tory’s gonna kill us.”</p><p>“Yeah. She definitely is.”</p><p>
  <b>Tory</b>
</p><p>When I said get some I didn’t mean be late!!<br/>Where are you???</p><p>Fell asleep sorry</p><p>You fell asleep?<br/>Together?</p><p>Yup.</p><p>Get your ass over here</p><p>I have to get ready</p><p>I hate you<br/>Be here soon?</p><p>Of course</p><p>Evelyn waited while Miguel got changed into his swim trunks and a tank top. He waited while she drove him back to her house and got changed into a bikini and a t-shirt. She kissed him once each time they had to change from place to place. In the car, in the doorway of her room, in the doorway of his room, and back in the car.</p><p>Evelyn was starting to get really used to the feeling of kissing Miguel.</p><p>“Hey! Glad you finally made it.” Tory smiled as she saw the two of them walking towards her. Miguel wandered off to go talk to Hawk, allowing Tory to pull Evelyn off to the side. “So? How long have you been going out with Miguel?”</p><p>Evelyn grimaced, knowing Tory was not going to like her answer. “About a week and a half.”</p><p>“But you broke up with Robby a week and a half ago.” A realization struck Tory. “You didn’t cheat on Robby, did you?”</p><p>She shook her head vigorously. “No. I would never do that. I just… went over to Miguel’s that night, after Robby and I broke up. I probably should’ve just gone home instead, but here we are.”</p><p>“You’re such a player!” Tory exclaimed. “I never expected this from you.”</p><p>“It’s not like I’m in a super serious relationship with Miguel or anything,” she protested. “He knows that he’s just a rebound.”</p><p>“Are you sure he knows that he’s just a rebound, though?” Tory asked, seeing Miguel’s eyes on Evelyn.</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>“I’m saying that he totally has feelings for you. Even if you’re doing this whole ‘no feelings involved’ thing, I don’t quite know that he’s following that rule.” Tory raised an eyebrow at Evelyn, knowing that she was completely, 100% right.</p><p>Evelyn shook her head. “You’re joking.”</p><p>“I’m definitely not.” Tory did a surprisingly good imitation of Miguel’s lovesick staring. “That’s how he looks at you.”</p><p>Evelyn was just about to say something back to Tory when she noticed two highly familiar figures walking down the side of the beach, hands intertwined. A flood of jealousy crashed over Evelyn, making her fists clench. “You said this was just a Cobra Kai party. Who invited <em> Sam </em>?”</p><p>“Definitely not me. I hate that bitch even more than you do, and that’s saying something.” Another realization struck Tory. “Did you tell Demetri where you were going? I know he’s friends with both of them.”</p><p>Evelyn’s head dropped forwards. “Yeah. I did. Mom’s been super freaked out lately, so she needed to know exactly where I was and who I’m with before she let me out of the house. She must’ve said something to Demetri.”</p><p>“If your mother’s being so strict, how exactly are you explaining away the makeout sessions with Diaz?” Tory asked, one eyebrow raised.</p><p>Evelyn flushed. “I’m telling my mother that Sensei Lawrence is giving Miguel and I private karate lessons. They live in the same apartment complex.” </p><p>“I’m sure she believes that one.” Tory started to laugh. “You might not be getting private karate lessons from Sensei, but you are getting private lessons from Miguel.”</p><p>“Nasty!” Evelyn chided. “I can’t believe I’m friends with someone whose mind is as deep in the gutter as yours is.”</p><p>Sam’s blood boiled at the sight of Evelyn talking and laughing with Tory. Evelyn noticed Sam again, and there was a clear challenge in the glare that they were shooting each other. Which, Evelyn won. Sam backed down, but she made sure to put her arm around Robby’s waist as the two of them walked away together. </p><p>That just made Evelyn swear under her breath, her glare not leaving Sam and Robby. She couldn’t believe that after everything, Robby would actually date her. After Sam was the reason that they broke up. </p><p>“You okay, Ev?” Tory asked tentatively. “You look actually murderous. Am I gonna need to help you hide LaRusso’s body, or do you want me to hold you back if you start trying to fight her?”</p><p>Evelyn finally tore her eyes away from the joined figures of Sam and Robby. “Right now we’re on ‘hold me back.’ We’ll see how the rest of the night goes.”</p><p>Tory nodded. “Sounds good.”</p><p>“Have I told you that you’re literally the greatest friend ever?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“You just did.” Tory’s eyes flicked over to Sam and then rolled into the back of her head. “Anyways, the bar’s not super high.”</p><p>Evelyn scoffed. “Yeah. Some best friend, right? She flirts with Robby the entire time that we were dating, breaks us up, and now she’s coming with him to parties.”</p><p>“That’s why you need a new best friend.”</p><p>“Who might that be, Tory?” Evelyn teased.</p><p>Tory shrugged, but she was smiling. “Me.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>
  <b>Demetri</b>
</p><p>Why would you tell Sam and Robby about the party???<br/>Do you have any idea what kind of situation you just put me in</p><p>I didn’t tell Sam. I know you’re mad at her<br/>I told Robby, though</p><p>WHY ???</p><p>You guys need to talk</p><p>We have talked? We’re friends??</p><p>I mean you need to talk about Miguel</p><p>That’s so not your place to decide when I tell him!</p><p>It’s not like I’m telling Mom the truth about your “private karate lessons” or anything</p><p>You better not tell her or I’ll tell her about the fact that you steal money out of her purse to buy comic books that she says you can’t have</p><p>Deal. No telling Mom anything</p><p>That is something I can agree to</p><p>Anyways<br/>Were you ever planning on telling Robby?</p><p>Maybe in a few months</p><p>You’re staying with Miguel for a few months??</p><p>That’s not what I said<br/>I said I wasn’t gonna tell Robby for a few months <br/>I didn’t say I was gonna tell him while Miguel and I are still together</p><p>You’re hopeless<br/>Please just talk to your boyfriends and figure this out</p><p>I only had one boyfriend and he’s with Sam.</p><p>You know what I mean<br/>I’m sick of hearing about your boy drama. It takes 30 minutes off of my life every time we have to have a conversation like this</p><p>Well if you could stop meddling we wouldn’t have to have these conversations!!</p><p>I will never meddle again if you can keep your drama to yourself</p><p>That is another deal that I can definitely make</p><p>Evelyn was wearing one of Tory’s flannels with her bikini top this time, a fact that Robby was painfully aware of. He kept trying to refocus his eyes on Sam, the person who he brought to the party, but it was hard. It was hard, knowing that he was the one whose flannel she should be wearing. He was the one who should be walking over to her. Knowing that he was the one who should’ve been… Robby closed his eyes, taking a deep breath like he’d been taught to calm the explosion of rage within him. He counted to ten, and opened his eyes. She was gone. With Miguel, who’d just taken her by the hand in front of everybody they knew.</p><p>Nobody else but Robby was paying attention, though.</p><p>“Hawk noticed this.” Miguel gestured to the hickey on his neck. “He wanted to know where I got it.”</p><p>Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him, not letting go of his hand as he led her to her minivan. “Oh? What’d you tell him?”</p><p>“That I had a super hot babe in my bed this afternoon.” Her eyes widened as she turned to face him, especially at his use of their sensei’s colloquial terms for women. “Ev, I’m joking. I told him that I accidentally got hit in the neck while I was training. I don’t think he believed it because he did fist bump me, but he didn’t ask any more questions.”</p><p>“Great.” Evelyn grimaced slightly, laughing more than anything. Then she realized where he was leading her, and smirked at him. “Wow. Couldn’t even wait until later?”</p><p>“Nope.” Miguel followed her into the back of her minivan, consciously placing his hands on her flannel as opposed to her bare skin as he leaned in. </p><p>This changed when she, in turn, made the conscious decision to break the kiss and take off Tory’s flannel. Miguel’s eyes went wide, and he had to forcibly close his mouth so that he didn’t gape at her. It didn’t really work, though. Evelyn noticed the prolonged staring, and crossed her arms over her stomach out of instinct. He quickly realized that he’d made her uncomfortable, something that he definitely didn’t want to do.</p><p>“I’m really sorry.” He tore his eyes away from her, instead focusing on the steering wheel. The steering wheel was easier. He couldn’t make the steering wheel uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t be staring at you like that. You’re so much more than just how you look, and I’m objectifying you.”</p><p>“Miguel, you’re not objectifying me. I just…” She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”</p><p>“Because you’re beautiful.” His voice was soft, and deeply sincere.</p><p>Evelyn blushed, an equally soft smile coming across her face. “Do you really mean that? Because if you don’t, that’d be so mean.”</p><p>“Of course I mean that.” Miguel turned back to her, meeting her eyes. “You’re beautiful, Evelyn. You’re so much more than just that, but it’s true.”</p><p>In response, she leaned in and kissed him. Not in the way that they’d kissed earlier that day, but the way that they kissed for the very first time a week and a half before. His hand was still holding her face like she was the most precious thing in the entire world, and she was still feeling so many emotions towards him so that the only thing she could think of to do was kiss him. This kiss was lingering and sweet, neither of them wanting to pull away.</p><p>So, they didn’t. They spent that time sitting in the back row of her minivan, and kissing. Not hooking up, as Tory put it. Kissing. Evelyn had a host of new and terrifying feelings that were quickly developing for Miguel, ones that she was repressing with all her might. But, it was truly difficult to repress them when he was holding her the way he did that day. Miguel was the one to finally pull away. “Wow. What was that for?”</p><p>Her eyes were shining as she looked at him. “You said that I was beautiful.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Miguel smiled at her. “I did.”</p><p>Evelyn smiled back at him, kissing him once more before putting on her flannel and taking his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back.” When they got back to where everyone else was, Sam was still standing next to Robby. Evelyn could clearly see Sam glance over at her, whisper something to Robby, and then laugh. Her eyes flared, and she immediately let go of Miguel’s hand. “Alright. I’ve tried to just ignore her, but I’m done. This ends right now.”</p><p>“Wait, Ev-” Miguel started, but she was already getting right up in Sam’s face.</p><p>“What did you just say about me?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“I didn’t say anything.” Sam crossed her arms in front of her, immediately rising to the challenge that was presented. </p><p>Evelyn scoffed. “I saw you look at me, say something to Robby, and laugh.”</p><p>“I can say whatever I want to Robby.” Sam retorted. “I’m the one that he brought to this party, after all. He chose me.”</p><p>Now she’d done it. Evelyn, blinded by anger, stepped forward and slapped her former best friend across the face. A crowd quickly started to form, realizing that a fight was going down. “How dare you- you <em> flaunt </em>your relationship with him after you’re the reason that we broke up.”</p><p>Sam rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, completely shocked that Evelyn would actually hit her. But, it was too late. Evelyn was always the one to strike first and start fights. Sam was just going to be the one to finish it. “He tried to apologize to you. But you wouldn’t take it, because you know that he loves me more than he loved you.” This time Sam anticipated the movement, twisting Evelyn’s arm behind her back before she could punch her.</p><p>Robby immediately ran into the circle upon noticing the fight, pulling the two of them apart. Miguel followed suit, holding back Evelyn while Robby held back Sam. “Stop fighting!”</p><p>“She started it!” Sam protested. </p><p>“I started this? How did <em> I </em>start this?” Sam started to retort, but Evelyn didn’t even let her get a word out before she cut her off. “No, you started this when you kissed my boyfriend!”</p><p>The crowd gasped, making Robby - the boyfriend in question - flush.</p><p>“I think you mean ex-boyfriend,” Sam said coolly.</p><p>Evelyn hadn’t been fighting Miguel’s restraints up until this point, but Sam’s words made her shake him off completely. “You made sure of that, didn’t you. Because Little Miss Perfect has always gotten exactly what she wanted. Especially if it’s something that she can’t have. Like Robby. You knew that he was with me, you broke us up and started dating him, and now that he’s yours, you’re probably going to get bored of him and move on to the next thing. Just like you’ve always done.”</p><p>Even though Evelyn had only slapped Sam, her words were just like a slap to Robby. Sam was gonna need to do a lot of explaining, because what Evelyn was saying sure sounded true to Robby. Sam’s eyes widened, confirming what Evelyn said to the point that Robby let go of her altogether. If they wanted to fight, neither Robby nor Miguel particularly felt like stopping it anymore. Robby because he was mad at Sam, and Miguel because he knew better than to get in between Evelyn and somebody who she wanted to fight.</p><p>“Like who, Ev? Who would I be moving on to next?” Sam asked. “If you’re so determined that my only goal in life is to steal your boyfriends.”</p><p>Evelyn hesitated for just a second, before saying “Miguel.”</p><p>If Robby thought what she said about Sam was a slap across the face, this was like a knife to the arm. Seeing her and Miguel holding hands earlier and hearing straight from her mouth that they were together were two entirely different things. She’d already broken Robby’s glass heart in half when she ended things between them. Now she was just taking the shattered pieces and grinding them into dust with the ball of her foot.</p><p>Out of everyone, she chose Miguel, the person who’d bested him in every single way. Miguel beat him at the All Valley. Miguel had a better relationship with his dad than he did. Miguel had a deeper connection with Sam than he did. Evelyn was the only person who he thought would never choose Miguel over him, but now he knew that he was wrong. He’d really thought that she was different, that she was worth trusting. That she was worth loving. Which, he did. Robby loved her more than she would ever know. But, she’d clearly moved on. It was time for him to do the same. </p><p>Sam’s face had fallen at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. “You’re dating Miguel?”</p><p>Evelyn looked over at Miguel, then at Robby, and then nodded. “Yeah.”</p><p>She wasn’t about to admit to the truth of their relationship with him in front of both Sam and Robby, and certainly not in front of the crowd who was still watching. That was way too complicated for her to get into. Evelyn hadn’t quite realized how badly her words were affecting Miguel, though. She didn’t know true depth of his feelings for her. They weren’t anything like what Robby felt, of course. Even if Miguel tried, he couldn’t feel the same way that Robby felt about her. She hadn’t seen Miguel at his absolute worst. She hadn’t gently pushed past every single one of Miguel’s walls, even finding a way to love the darkness that hid between them.</p><p>Evelyn had worked her way into Robby’s heart in a way that nobody else had before. From the minute he saw her at the Tech Town, Robby knew she was special. But, he never could’ve predicted how much she would mean to him, or how badly it would hurt him when she chose someone else. Miguel did have feelings for her, though. Even if they weren’t at the level that Robby did, they were still there. He knew that he’d agreed to a casual relationship, no strings attached, but he didn’t want that anymore. It was hard to look at her and not want to call her your girlfriend. Sure, she was beautiful, but like he said, she was so much more than that. She was wicked smart, badass, kind, and loyal to the point that she would follow you to the ends of the earth if you let her.</p><p>The only person she really wanted to follow at the moment, though, was standing behind Sam, completely heartbroken. Evelyn knew how badly she’d wrecked things with Robby, and it tore her in half to think about it. This casual relationship with Miguel was supposed to get her over Robby, but it just made her miss him even more. Things with Robby were, as she said to Miguel that fateful night, the opposite of casual. He was her first love, her first real relationship, the first person who she really could see a future with. As fun and sweet as Miguel was, she just couldn’t see any semblance of a future with him. But, she’d completely ruined any hope of getting back together with Robby. It was really time for her to move on, and she knew it.</p><p>“I can’t believe you!” Sam exclaimed. “You’re dating Miguel? Out of everybody you could’ve chosen, you chose him.”</p><p>“What’s it to you, LaRusso?” Tory laughed quietly at Evelyn’s use of her former best friend’s last name. “You’re with Robby. As you so kindly put it, he chose you, and he loves you more than he ever could’ve loved me. Since you’re with Robby, what Miguel does, and <em> especially </em>when it involves me, is none of your goddamn business!”</p><p>“It is my business! You’re supposed to be my best friend.” Sam protested.</p><p>Her words caused a small explosion. “BEST FRIENDS DON’T KISS EACH OTHER’S BOYFRIENDS! God, what happened to you? You’re not the same person that I met ten years ago. That girl I knew would never break up a relationship just because she was bored.”</p><p>“The girl that I met ten years ago wouldn’t date her friend’s ex.” Sam said quietly.</p><p>“Well, that’s not a problem. Because you’re not my friend anymore.” Evelyn turned, pushing her way through the crowd. She couldn’t stand there with Sam one second longer.</p><p>Miguel immediately followed her, which hurt Robby even more. He knew that he should be the one following her, but he just couldn’t. Sam’s head had fallen onto Robby’s shoulder, so he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her into a hug. “It’s okay, Sam. It’s okay.”</p><p>It was not, in fact, okay. The only person who was more upset than Sam was still walking away, Miguel right behind her. “Ev, please. Stop.”</p><p>Evelyn kept going until she was satisfied with her distance from Sam and Robby. Then she turned to face Miguel, who could clearly see the heartbreak in her hazel eyes. “What, Miguel? What can you possibly say that makes the fact that I just lost my oldest friend okay?”</p><p>“I don’t know if I can say anything that’ll make it better, but this might.” Miguel leaned down, tracing her jawline with his thumb gently as he kissed her. He pulled away slowly, meeting her eyes once more. “Did that help?”</p><p>“It did, actually,” she admitted. “Made me forget about Sam and Robby for a little while.” </p><p>“Forget Sam and Robby. He cheated on you, and she just said all of that stuff.” Miguel took both of her hands in his. “Just be here with me.”</p><p>Evelyn shook her head, pulling away from him. “You deserve better than me, Miguel. You’re sweet, you’re really smart, you’re gorgeous, and you’re treating me way too nicely for what our relationship is.”</p><p>A small glimmer of hope rose in Miguel’s eyes. “And what is our relationship?”</p><p>“For me, it’s a rebound.” Evelyn said gently. As she stared into Miguel’s eyes, she realized that Tory was right.</p><p>He’d caught real feelings for her, and she’d just broken his heart.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” She was really trying to be gentle with him. The last thing Evelyn wanted when she got involved with Miguel was to let another heart get broken besides hers. “You deserve a girlfriend who’s ready for a relationship. I really, really wish that was me. More than you know.”</p><p>This didn’t make a single bit of sense to him. “Why can’t it be you? You just said that you wish you were ready for a relationship. Isn’t that enough?”</p><p>She shook her head. “I’m not doing this. You agreed to being casual.”</p><p>“I know, but I don’t want casual anymore,” he protested. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I want us to be real.”</p><p>Evelyn tucked her hands into the front pockets of her jean shorts. “I’m just not ready for that. It’s too soon after Robby.” </p><p>“Well, then, I’ll wait for you. Whenever you’re ready.” The palpable sincerity in his eyes was enough to melt anyone’s heart of stone, but it just made her feel even worse.</p><p><em> God, he’s too good for me. </em>“Please don’t.”</p><p>Miguel was starting to get confrontational, his posture straighter than normal and his hands hanging by his side. “Why not?”</p><p>This was what finally pushed her to admit the truth that she’d been hiding for the last week and a half. “Because I’m still in love with Robby, okay?”</p><p>“Oh.” Miguel scoffed. “You’re still in love with Robby. That explains everything.”</p><p>“Why the hell are you getting so angry?” Evelyn was more than a little taken aback by his attitude. “You knew <em> exactly </em>what you were getting into when I texted you and said ‘Robby cheated on me.’ You’re the one who asked me if I wanted to come over.”</p><p>“You’re the one who kissed me!” he exclaimed. “I gave you an out. You didn’t take it.”</p><p>Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him. “When did you give me an out?”</p><p>“When I said ‘This can mean nothing, or it can mean something.’”</p><p>“And I said ‘I don’t know what I want!’” This painful rehashing of their history was not what she expected when she drove him to the party earlier that afternoon. “You’re acting like I led you on. I was perfectly clear about how I was feeling the entire time. I told you that I was heartbroken, and I wasn’t ready for something real, and you offered casual. I took it. Now you’re mad because you thought I was gonna come around and want something that I said I wasn’t ready for? Seriously?”</p><p>“I kinda feel used, Ev.” Miguel admitted, sucking on the outside of his lip.</p><p>Evelyn took a step away from him, running her hands through her hair. “I don’t know how many times I can say this. If any of us were hiding our true intentions, it’s you! You’re the one that had ulterior motives. You’re the one who had real feelings, and pretended that you didn’t.”</p><p>“And you’re the one who went over to my apartment to get back at Sam for cheating with Robby,” he retorted.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart tore in half as she looked at him. That was the worst thing he possibly could’ve said to her. “Do you really think that what happened between us was about Sam?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Miguel nodded. “I do.”</p><p>“Well, then you clearly don’t know me as well as you think you do. You don’t know that I would <em> never </em>do something like that to you. I didn’t come over to your apartment because of Sam. I came over because you’re my friend, and I thought that you would never hurt me the way that Robby did. But accusing me of going out with you to get back at Sam? That did hurt me.” With her final words, she turned and left.</p><p>Miguel had to ask Hawk to drive him home.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>
  <b>Tory</b>
</p><p>So I might be the second worst friend ever<br/>Sam being the first</p><p>What’d you do</p><p>Miguel asked me out</p><p>Seriously?<br/>Wow. He moves fast</p><p>Would I be a horrible person if I said yes?<br/>I know he’s your ex and all that, and it’s only been a week</p><p>You would not be a horrible person if you said yes<br/>Miguel and I weren’t serious so he’s not even really my ex</p><p>Are you sure? Because I’ll totally turn him down if you want me to</p><p>It’s seriously fine<br/>I want you to be happy <br/>And anyways Miguel’s a nice guy. He’ll treat you well <br/>He treated me better than I deserved. I was terrible to him</p><p>You do deserve someone to treat you well</p><p>So do you. Miguel can definitely be that guy if you let him</p><p>I’ll say yes, then.</p><p>You do right by him, okay?<br/>I don’t want either of you getting hurt</p><p>Of course.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>FAMOUS LAST WORDS ONCE AGAIN. "I don't want either of you getting hurt" uhhhhh sorry about that miss ev<br/>also uh. the robby's glass heart breaking thing just makes me so sad<br/>i haven't really decided if i feel bad for miguel. bc he did know what he was getting himself into.<br/>and tory and her being actual legit best friends is the cutest thing ever. i love their relationship (tory x robby x evelyn when)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>If you thought things were done getting worse between Evelyn and Sam...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw: major classism from sam.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was about 100 degrees outside when Evelyn pulled up to Miyagi-Do, Demetri complaining bitterly about the temperature as he climbed out of her passenger seat. “It’s so hot outside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right?” Evelyn agreed, grabbing her bag from the back before following him inside. “Hi, Mr. L!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Evelyn. Demetri.” He nodded at the two of them as they filed in with the rest of the group. Sam was sitting underneath one of the trees, and Demetri went to go sit next to her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Traitor.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn thought bitterly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already sweating, and we’ve been outside for five minutes.” Demetri complained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is nothing.” Evelyn said offhandedly. “During </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mamma Mia </span>
  </em>
  <span>rehearsals last summer, there was no AC and we were stuck inside the black box. I remember at least one person passing out because it was like 100 degrees inside and they were making us go full out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri rolled his eyes. “Well, not all of us can be you, Ev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mamma Mia?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Robby’s eyes were wide, and there was a slight smile on his face. “You did musical theater?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just for the one show. They needed more dancers.” Evelyn tried to explain, but he was not about to let that idea go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YOU DID MUSICAL THEATER?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn started to laugh. “I’m not about to start singing show tunes or anything. I’m a horrible singer. I literally did ‘Happy Birthday’ for my vocal audition.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” A realization had struck Robby. “They made you dance when it was 100 degrees inside? Did you get water breaks or anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes.” Evelyn shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby glanced over at her, deeply concerned. “What do you mean, sometimes? That sounds really unhealthy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It prepared me for this, though. Worth it.” Evelyn noticed that Mr. LaRusso was standing in the doorway of the dojo, wringing his hands about something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, guys. Get out from under that tree. It’s time to work.” Daniel announced, walking towards them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. LaRusso, it’s like 100 degrees outside. Can’t we take it easy today?” Robby asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you kidding? This heat wave is a gift. Today you are going to experience Shochu-Geiko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like the car insurance?” Chris asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shochu-Geiko is a Japanese exercise where you train during the hottest days of the year. It’s about pushing yourself to your limit. The fight isn’t always going to come when it’s 75 degrees and breezy,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam looked confused. “Aren’t we supposed to avoid fighting?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someday, the fight may come to you.” Mr. LaRusso proclaimed, ready to start training. </span>
  <span>So, everyone formed a circle. One person was in the middle, and everyone else was taking turns sparring with the person in the middle. It seemed pretty straightforward, but it was a thousand times more difficult when the heat was factored in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, of course, Robby used getting put in the middle as an opportunity to take his shirt off. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Great.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn’s heart was pounding as she stood there, waiting for her number to get called. “Eight!” That was her. Evelyn immediately ran into the ring, but she was just a second too slow. So, Robby grabbed her arm as she tried to punch him, effectively blocking her. He punched her in the stomach gently (well, as gently as someone can punch their friend in the stomach), and then pushed her to the ground with his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby immediately offered his other hand to her, always a good sport. “Sorry about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. That was good.” Evelyn smiled as she walked back to her spot. Was this what being friends with Robby was like?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six!” Mr. LaRusso called out, which sent Sam into the ring, and she quickly kicked Robby in the stomach. He flipped his hair as he stumbled back, and Evelyn had to forcibly stop herself from rolling her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Demetri’s turn.” Mr. LaRusso called once more. “Demetri, get in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri did not look like he wanted to get in there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three!” Chris ran at Demetri, and took him down instantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, ‘Met. You gotta block that.” Chris said apologetically.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>MET???</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nobody else gave Demetri a nickname, and she never anticipated hearing it from Chris, of all people. Chris, who beat him up at the mall. Chris, who she’d finally forgiven. If Demetri could forgive him, then she tried to, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six!” Another Miyagi-Do student ran at Demetri, and swept his legs, sending him falling to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn walked quickly over to her brother, and helped him up. “Come on, Dem. You’re okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate this.” Demetri complained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She brushed some dirt off of his shirt gently. “I know. You’re okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we take a break, Dad?” Sam looked at the dejected form of Demetri. “This heat is brutal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys wanna cool off?” Mr. LaRusso asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone absolutely agreed with that statement. Evelyn didn’t particularly like the look on his face, though. He definitely was plotting something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. I think I can accommodate that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he led the group into what seemed to be a freezer, Evelyn started to shiver. She could deal with the heat, but she absolutely could not take the cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you couldn’t take the heat of Shochu-Geiko. Perhaps you’ll find Kangeiko more to your liking.” Mr. LaRusso said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are there no ‘geikos’ that take place in a spa?” Sam asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn laughed quietly. That was something that the two of them could agree on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not about the heat or the cold. It’s about adapting to the environment around you and using that to your advantage,” Daniel explained. “Look around. What do you see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Frozen London broil?” Chris suggested, as they all looked around at the frozen foods surrounding them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daniel shook his head. “No, not the meat. Look past that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was definitely shivering at this point, wishing more than anything that she’d opted for a sweatshirt rather than a tank top and wind shorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see the exhalation of breath. The twitch of a muscle. The shift of a stance.” Everyone started to see what he was pointing out, but they still didn’t see the point. “If you lean into the cold, it will heighten your senses. And then you’ll anticipate the moment before your opponent strikes. And you’ll always be ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone nodded. This was all starting to make sense to them, but then Mr. LaRusso’s phone rang. He checked it quickly, gestured for them to make another circle, and then disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn didn’t get called into the ring this time, thankfully. But, of course Sam and Robby had to fight again. This was definitely not fighting anymore, at least from Evelyn’s perspective. It was straight up flirting. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She already wanted to leave the freezer, but now she wanted to leave for two reasons. Sure, her and Robby’s breakup had been her idea. But, in that moment, she would’ve given almost anything to be the person on the end of Robby’s heartfelt stares, instead of Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam, who decided that the moment they arrived back onto the premises of Miyagi-Do (and her dad had disappeared to take a work call) was the moment to pick a fight with Evelyn. Sam was just as angry at Evelyn as Evelyn was at her. After ten years of friendship, Evelyn had chosen Tory over her at the beach club. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tory</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of all people</span>
  <em>
    <span>. </span>
  </em>
  <span>So, Sam decided to take a leaf out of her former best friend’s book and strike first. “Remember when my dad said earlier that the fight might come to us someday? I think it already has.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn quickly realized that the slight was directed towards her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s eyes flicked downwards, and then back up to meet Evelyn’s. “I’m just saying. Once a Cobra Kai, always a Cobra Kai.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do realize that I quit, right?” Evelyn asked. Quitting Cobra Kai had been a huge deal for her, and the fact that Sam was acting like it meant nothing was infuriating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam scoffed loudly. “Yeah. I’ve heard that one before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, Sam? Really? </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> questioning my ability to stay loyal?” Evelyn was easy to anger, and quick to strike. This came in handy with karate. Not so handy when handling delicate situations with one of your oldest friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, the thing is that Evelyn wasn’t just mad about what happened with Robby. Like Dr. Baker said, no boy was worth losing a friend over. But, Sam didn’t just kiss Robby. She destroyed Evelyn’s trust, and then kept picking fights about it. That trust wasn’t something that Sam was about to get back anytime soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s arms were crossed. “I’m just saying. Your loyalties have changed before. What’s saying that they won’t change again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You put a single ounce of trust in me?” Evelyn asked, completely incredulous at how Sam was acting. Sam was definitely not the person who was allowed to get angry right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s kind of hard when you sided with the people that did all this!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes. “First of all, like 90% of the stuff that you’re mad about was just Hawk. I didn’t dislocate Robby’s shoulder, I didn’t go after the three of you at the mall, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t trash your dojo!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t just Hawk who showed us up at Valley Fest!” Sam exclaimed. “It was all of you. You knew how important that was to us - how important that was to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and you didn’t say a single thing about your plans!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shrugged. “Yeah, because our entrance wouldn’t’ve been as badass if you’d known about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Now it was Sam’s turn to roll her eyes. “Always putting what you want over our friendship, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t think that I’m the one putting what I want over our friendship, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Samantha</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Sam winced. Evelyn only called her Samantha when something was very, very wrong. “You’re the one who kissed Robby while we were dating, and you’re the one who keeps starting shit with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s heart sank. Now that it was all spelled out like that, she felt terrible. Evelyn was right. She was being a jerk. “Ev-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t. I’m done trying to fix things with you.” Evelyn turned and walked out of the dojo, not even bothering to close the door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby knocked on Evelyn’s front door later that day, but it wasn’t Evelyn that he was there to see. “Hey, Demetri.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.” Demetri nodded cordially. “Ev’s not here, but I can tell her that you came over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m actually not here to see her. I did want to talk about her, but I want to talk to you.” Robby said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Okay. Come on in.” Demetri opened the door, and Robby followed him inside. Neither of them particularly knew how to interact with each other when they were alone. They were friends, of course, but either Sam or Evelyn was usually there as a buffer. So, after a few seconds of awkward shuffling, they sat across from each other at the kitchen table. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know that Sam and Ev have been fighting.” Robby’s words made Demetri laugh quietly. “Yeah. It’s kind of getting ridiculous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri rolled his eyes. “You can say that again. They’ve fought before, but never this much, and definitely never for this long. Whenever they fought when we were kids, they’d argue for maybe ten minutes before crying, hugging, and making up. It’s been two weeks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Robby nodded. “We can definitely agree that this has been going on for far too long. I thought that they would fix it on their own, but I think that we need to step in if they’re ever going to speak to each other again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you suggest?” Demetri asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we told both Sam and Ev that training started at 11 instead of 12 tomorrow? If we can just get them to stop fighting for long enough to talk, I really think they’ll be fine,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good.” There was another moment of awkward silence. “So, do you wanna watch something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” Robby said, following Demetri to the couch. There sat Evelyn and Demetri’s very grumpy orange cat, whose name was Nacho. Nacho hated pretty much everybody on the planet except for Demetri, and Robby. “Hey, buddy.” Robby sat right next to Nacho, who meowed and jumped onto his lap. “I know. I missed you, too,” he crooned, smiling as Nacho turned around twice, and then made himself at home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri had to stifle his laughter. The same Robby Keene who got caught doing molly at school was the same person who was sitting on Demetri’s couch and playing with his cat. It normally took some time for Nacho to warm up to people, but he loved Robby immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>When Evelyn pulled open the door to her room, she saw Nacho sitting on her bed. This was a rare occurrence. He was almost always with Demetri instead. “Hey, Nacho.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nacho?” Robby asked teasingly. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah.” Evelyn shrugged. “He’s orange.” Her words made Robby smile. She just said it so matter-of-factly, like ‘what else could you possibly name an orange cat?’ He started to walk over to her bed, but she quickly stopped him. “Nacho pretty much hates everybody. I’d be careful.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She was proven wrong as Nacho ambled over to Robby, and headbutted his leg. “I guess he likes me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah. He does.” Evelyn watched, completely enraptured, as Robby sat down and instantly befriended Nacho. From that point on, Robby made a joke out of pointing out that her cat actually liked him more.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He had no idea just how much that said about his character.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby noticed the look on Demetri’s face. “I love your cat. Don’t make that face at me.” He was mostly teasing, but Demetri immediately stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. Sorry.” Demetri sat down across the couch from Robby, not quite knowing what to do. “So, what do you wanna watch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever you want’s fine.” Robby was too preoccupied with Nacho to really care that Demetri would probably suggest some ‘nerd shit,’ as Hawk called it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just rewatching </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if you wanna watch with me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Last Airbender, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that is.” Demetri corrected himself. “Not the movie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good to me.” Robby shrugged, feeling Nacho purring in his lap. Robby was fairly confused for most of the episode (given that Demetri started in Season 2), but Demetri explained it fairly well. He also compared what was happening in the episode to their lives. Demetri said that he would be an air bender, since he specialized in speed and evasion, kind of like what he did at the mall. Robby would be a water bender, because he’s very versatile and has learned a lot about focusing on the flow of energy from Miyagi-Do. Demetri also compared Cobra Kai to the Fire Nation, which Robby couldn’t quite figure out was a bad thing. He decided it was better not to ask.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn unlocked her front door, and instantly became riddled with confusion upon seeing her ex-boyfriend and her brother sitting on her couch and watching… “Demetri, are you making him watch </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you? You’re gonna scare him off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” Robby’s eyes followed Evelyn as she sat down next to him, which promptly scared Nacho away. “It’s your fault, Ev. Nacho was fine before you got here,” he teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. I told you he hates people.” Evelyn said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby gestured at Nacho, who was now headbutting Demetri. “I think he only hates you, and you’re saying that to make yourself feel better about the fact that he likes me more.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn rolled her eyes playfully. “Next you’re gonna file for joint custody.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he’s our son now?” Robby asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri grimaced at both of them, before standing up. “This got weird. I’m gonna go now. Robby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I’ll tell her.” This earned him a nod, before Demetri left them alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me what?” Evelyn had taken her shoes off, so she crossed her legs and turned to face Robby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Training tomorrow got pushed up an hour. Mr. LaRusso said something about the dealership.” He hated how easy lying came to him, but at least this time it was for a good cause. Sam and Evelyn were easily the two most important people in his life. He really didn’t want them to be at each other’s throats anymore, and especially not over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Sounds good.” Evelyn shrugged. “Thanks for hanging out with Demetri, by the way. He’s been really upset ever since the whole Hawk thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing. I like hanging out with Demetri,” he admitted. “He’s pretty cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She patted Robby’s thigh gently. “You are the sweetest for saying that. Never in my life have I heard someone refer to my brother as ‘cool.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what I mean.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn was suspicious from the second that she got in the car with Demetri the next day. He was acting even weirder than normal, and that combined with his hangout with Robby was definitely off-putting. This just multiplied when she got to Miyagi-Do, and only saw one car in the parking lot. Sam’s car. “Demetri, what’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing.” Demetri grabbed their water bottles and ushered her out of the minivan and into the dojo before she could ask any more questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam was sparring with Robby when she noticed Evelyn walk in. “What’s she doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Evelyn quickly realized that she’d been tricked. “Did you and Robby seriously </span>
  <em>
    <span>Parent Trap</span>
  </em>
  <span> us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we did.” Robby affirmed. “You have been fighting for way too long. If you could just sit down and talk-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head. “I’m not talking to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this seriously still about Sam and I? Because I’m not worth all of this.” Robby said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was about you for a little while, but not anymore. I’m mad because she keeps picking fights with me.” Evelyn pointed furiously at Sam. “I’m mad because she’s the one who’s acting like she’s been wronged, when she had no good reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You chose Tory over me at the beach club!” Sam protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously? You seriously think that I chose Tory over you?” Evelyn had absolutely no idea how Sam could possibly think that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam nodded. “She stole alcohol from the bar, and you went and drank it with her instead of sticking up for me when I told her to put it back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, Tory invited you to come with us. You turned her down.” Sam tried to protest, but Evelyn cut her off. “Second, you accused Tory of stealing your mom’s wallet, and you never apologized. Even after you found out that she didn’t do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because she stole the alcohol!” Sam insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, Sam!” Evelyn exclaimed. “It was one freaking bottle, and if you really want her to pay the club back, I’m sure she would. You accusing her was way worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This did not make sense to Sam. “How was it way worse?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You basically told her that she didn’t belong there.” Evelyn explained, beyond frustrated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam rolled her eyes. “Because she doesn’t!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is the most classist thing I have ever heard from you in my entire life.” Each time Evelyn thought that Sam had sunk lower and lower, Sam found a way to prove her wrong. “You know, some of us can’t just swipe Daddy’s credit card whenever we want something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Screw you.” Sam turned, and walked off. She couldn’t quite slam the door behind her since it was a sliding door, but she tried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby shot Demetri a </span>
  <em>
    <span>well, that went terribly </span>
  </em>
  <span>look before following Sam out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Demetri admitted. “Robby and I shouldn’t have tried to meddle in you and Sam’s friendship. We just really want you guys to stop fighting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head. “It’s not your fault that she can’t recognize her own privilege, and how warped being super rich has made her. I just keep thinking ‘this is the fight that makes her realize what a jerk she’s being,’ but apparently not.” Her voice was bitter. “Apparently her fight with Tory is more important than fixing things with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri walked over, and patted Evelyn on the shoulder awkwardly. “Do you wanna skip training today? We can go get ice cream. Robby can cover for us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Evelyn pulled up in her minivan, nodding as Tory got in and threw her bag in the back. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh.” Tory shrugged. “Training was fine. Sensei Kreese was gone. Something definitely happened between him and Sensei Lawrence, but of course he didn’t tell us anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head. “I’m honestly glad that Kreese is gone. He was sketchy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s probably true. It’s fine, though. We learned how to headbutt.” Tory said. “Not something you’d learn at Miyagi-Do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Katas are fun and all, but I kind of miss Cobra Kai,” she admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tory threw up her hands. “Come back, then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head. “I didn’t even get out of the car because I don’t want to see Miguel. Also, I don’t want to keep switching back and forth. I’d seem flaky.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tory sighed. “I really wish that you and Miguel would talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What am I going to say to him? I literally dumped him by saying ‘I’m still in love with my ex.’ He doesn’t want to talk to me just as much as I don’t want to talk to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s bullshit. You’ve been friends for a year, and you’re throwing it all away because of an awkward not-breakup?” Tory asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He accused me of going out with him to get to Sam!” Evelyn protested. “That hurt.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Ev.” Tory pouted, which she only ever did when she really wanted something. “I want you guys to make up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. If you want me to, I’ll talk to him. No promises that it’ll go well. I seem to be screwing all of my relationships up lately.” Evelyn grimaced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tory rolled her eyes. “Are you talking about LaRusso?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Sam, Miguel, Robby…” Evelyn trailed off, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Tory smacked Evelyn’s leg gently. “You better not be blaming yourself for what happened with Robby. He cheated on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was one kiss,” she protested. “Robby tried to apologize, and I didn’t let him. Sam’s right. It’s because I always knew that he loved her more than he loved me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tory shook her head. “That’s definitely not true. I saw the way that he looked at you at the beach club. LaRusso’s pretty, but I don’t think he loves her, and definitely not more than he loves you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Whatever you say, Tor.” Evelyn was quiet for the rest of the drive, and Tory didn’t push her to say anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on.” Tory linked her arm with Evelyn’s as they walked inside the mall. “Let’s see if we can get any free samples. I don’t get paid until next week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good.” They were just walking past all of the stores and ignoring what was displayed in the windows, until they walked past one specific black jumpsuit. It was fitted, strapless, and drop-dead gorgeous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn. That’s cute.” Tory nodded appreciatively. “Not for me, but cute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn glanced back at it, and then looked away again. “Yeah. I don’t wear stuff like that, but it is cute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’d look good on you. You could show up to a party or something in it. Make Keene regret the day that he chose LaRusso over you,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made Evelyn look one more time. “I don’t know. I might try it on, though. Even if I don’t end up buying it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better.” Tory followed her into the store, and waited patiently as Evelyn took the jumpsuit and went into the dressing room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, it was a perfect fit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Evelyn came out, Tory actually wolf-whistled. This earned her a glare from one of the managers, but she didn’t care. “Damn! Where’ve you been hiding that body, di Angelo? You look hot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks. I don’t know about getting it, though. It’s a little…” Evelyn gestured to her upper half. “Skimpy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that bad. It just feels bad to you because you dress like a nun.” Tory made a face at Evelyn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not dress like a nun!” Evelyn protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You definitely do. Seriously, though. Keene-” Tory laughed. “Keene is not going to know what hit him.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oops?<br/>miss larusso being classist isn't out of character tho... am i wrong... (no i'm not)<br/>but anyways ev is 100% team tory which i was DEFINITELY not expecting when i first started writing run away but here we are!<br/>chapter 19 is definitely... well....... chapter 19 is gonna be interesting.<br/>(also: in case you didn't figure out, that black jumpsuit is Very Important and robby does in fact, not know what hit him)<br/>also this chapter is lowkey unedited. it took me a good long while to get through and i usually read through chapters about 8 times before i post them but this one only got read through twice. sorry if it's bad hehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's a party!!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cw: slight sl*t shaming from demetri? underage drinking, police, all that jazz.<br/>also! i wrote the first scene to "that's my girl" by fifth harmony, so the flow of the scene fits kind of with the song. if you wanna listen to that song while reading that probably wouldn't be the worst idea<br/>one last thing: i did some reworking of my past chapters. if y'all wanna go check some of them out, the one i would most recommend rereading is chapter 3 because i did actual changes to it, instead of just editing. no plot's changed, though. it's just the way one scene flowed</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelyn woke up to the sound of her alarm, immediately groaning as she slapped the snooze button. Nine minutes later, she rolled out of bed with an eye roll. She picked up some clothes off of her slightly-messy floor and folded them before getting ready for the day. She grabbed her headphones off of her dresser, kissing her mom quickly on the cheek before heading to the dance studio.</p><p>Her dance training was an advantage that the others in karate just simply didn’t have, and it was something that she was ready to continue to cultivate. This new rivalry springing up between Tory and Sam had sprung Evelyn into action. If something went down, she needed to be at the top of her game to defend her girl. Sam and Evelyn used to be best friends, but that went out the window when she kissed Robby, and then had the audacity to be hostile about it. If something went down, Evelyn knew exactly whose side she’d be on.</p><p>As she walked into the studio, she quickly changed her clothes into something more dance-appropriate before beginning to stretch. The comfortable and familiar burn in her muscles reminded her who she was. Dance was something that she had before Cobra Kai, before Miyagi-Do, before Miguel, before Robby… Evelyn shook her head. This was the one thing that she had that wasn’t directly intertwined with Robby or Miguel in some way. This was the one thing that was hers.</p><p>She didn’t need Robby.</p><p>She didn’t need Miguel.</p><p>All she needed was herself.</p><p>In that moment, Evelyn swore off boys altogether. All they were was a waste of time, something to consume her energy, and all they did was cause her pain. Though, she figured, she’d caused Robby and Miguel pain, too. This was true, but they’d moved past that. No more were the days of crying because Robby cheated on her, or kissing Miguel in a halfhearted attempt to move on. She was done with all of that, and she was turning over a new leaf. She was a badass woman, and she was going to start acting like it.</p><p>Next step: karate training.</p><p>“Hey, guys-” Evelyn opened the doors to the dojo, needing to set her stuff down, only to see a sight she never wanted to see. Robby’s hand held Sam’s cheek gently, and he was kissing Sam the way that he used to kiss Evelyn. The green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly head in Evelyn’s stomach, making it hard for her to think coherently. But, somehow she managed to step back and close the doors. </p><p>Coughing so as to alert Robby and Sam that she was there, Evelyn opened the doors and walked in for the second time. “Hey!” Her voice was loud, fake cheer oozing out of her every word.</p><p>Robby instantly jumped back from Sam and rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. “Hey, Ev.”</p><p>“Sorry to… uh.” She waved her hand at the two of them. “Interrupt. I was just going to go out and practice for a few minutes before Mr. L came by for training.” Evelyn was surprisingly calm as she shoved down all of the feelings in her stomach, and walked outside. She needed to take that anger and jealousy that she was feeling, and turn it into strength. </p><p>That punching bag never had it quite as rough as that day. As she kicked and punched the bag, her moves became more and more frenzied, until she hit her fever point. She was an absolute beast, feeling every emotion that was consuming her through her karate, through her dance, through a productive manner. This was exactly what she needed to finally move on from Robby. He has his girlfriend, and she has herself.</p><p>Like she said, that’s all that she needed.</p><p>Her phone buzzed a few times, making her stop punching for long enough to answer it.</p><p>
  <b>Tory</b>
</p><p>Are you coming to Moon’s party tonight?</p><p>Hell yes!<br/>Actually I have a question</p><p>Shoot</p><p>Have you ever dyed your hair before?</p><p>What color are you thinking?</p><p>Pink?</p><p>What shade</p><p>Hot pink</p><p>Ew<br/>You’d look like that girl from Lazytown</p><p>I was going for more of a Tonks vibe but yeah ig you’re right</p><p>Never mind. That’s badass<br/>Can I help?</p><p>I thought you’d never ask</p><p>“Hey!” Evelyn had already sectioned her hair into layers when Tory walked into her bathroom. “How’s Cobra Kai?”</p><p>“Ugh. Sensei Lawrence is being kind of a hardass, but it’s nice to get to spend more time with Miguel.” </p><p>“Ooooh, Miguel.” Evelyn teased. “Speaking of, how was it when he came to visit you at work the other day?”</p><p>Tory rolled her eyes as she picked up the box of bleach and started reading the instructions. “Ugh. It was going fine until LaRusso came and ruined everything.”</p><p>“Sam came? With or without Robby?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“What do you think?” Tory and Evelyn both knew the answer to that question.</p><p>Now it was Evelyn’s turn to roll her eyes. “What did Sam do?”</p><p>“She tripped me.” Tory was quiet, her eyes hard and her jaw tense with anger. “Food got everywhere, and I got yelled at by three different customers and my manager.”</p><p>“Shit, Tor.” Evelyn reached backwards, and patted her arm gently. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>Tory’s lips were pursed, and she was shaking her head. “That bitch could’ve lost me my job.”</p><p>“That’s really messed up. Especially not after she didn’t apologize for the wallet thing. Which I called her on, and she just got butthurt.” Evelyn said. She wasn’t about to tell Tory about the rest of what happened with Sam, but at least Tory could hear that part.</p><p>“Yeah!” Tory started to mix up the bottle, and apply the bleach to Evelyn’s head. “Her saying that she would call security on me was humiliating.”</p><p>“It’s so messed up. Even after that, she’s tripping you at work and almost getting you fired?”</p><p>“Yeah. So, what happened with Robby?” Tory asked. “You wouldn’t be dyeing your hair if something didn’t happen with him.”</p><p>They both knew that that was true. “I saw him kissing Sam. Decided that it was finally time that I moved on.”</p><p>“I’m proud of you. He might be hot and all, but he clearly has no taste if he picked LaRusso over you.”</p><p>Evelyn smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot.”</p><p>“And anyways, when I’m done with your hair, and you put on that outfit you bought at the mall? We’re gonna take some pictures and put them on Instagram, and he’s gonna regret the day that he was born.” Tory promised. “I mean it.”</p><p>“I kind of hope so, but I also just wanna forget about him. Even though I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon.”</p><p>“Makes sense. You were totally in love with him,” Tory said offhandedly.</p><p>“Yeah.” Evelyn nodded. “I was.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>Evelyn did a slight turn in the mirror, checking out how she looked, and especially her new hair color. She’d never dyed her hair before, and it had taken forever. But, it was absolutely worth it. She had put on that black jumpsuit that she bought with Tory at the mall, and it fit her perfectly. It definitely was a little more revealing than she was used to, so she tugged a few times at the v-neck before she was mildly satisfied with the coverage that it was providing. This was definitely way out of her comfort zone. She also knew that she was probably overdressing, but whatever. Even if she was overdressed, she still thought she looked nice.</p><p>Adrenaline started pumping as she got into her Honda and started driving, not having a clue what she was doing. Was she seriously just doing this to get attention? But, attention was fun. It was long past time for a change. If she was ever going to be something other than just Demetri’s sister, she needed to take matters into her own hands.</p><p>Which, she figured, she’d already done.</p><p>Tory was standing outside, an instant smile coming over her face when she saw her best friend. “Hey, Ev! You look hot.”</p><p>“Thanks! So do you.” Tory was wearing a red flannel and a pair of dark jeans, and in Evelyn’s opinion, she did look hot. She wasn’t about to hit on Tory or anything. But, she was definitely going to hype up her friend. “When’d you get here?”</p><p>“A few minutes ago. When’d you get here?”</p><p>“Like thirty seconds ago.” Evelyn said.</p><p>Tory glanced around. “No Robby sightings yet?”</p><p>“Nope.” But, Evelyn had definitely noticed the attention that she was getting from other people, and she loved it. Even Hawk did a double take when he saw her. She was trying to pass it off as him being shocked at her change, until she felt a tap on her shoulder.</p><p>“Hey. I like your hair.” Hawk’s voice was low, and so sultry that it made Evelyn’s skin crawl. “What’s your name?” That question was answered as she turned around, and Hawk’s eyes widened. “EV?”</p><p>Evelyn was incredulous, and Tory was laughing her head off. “YOU WERE TRYING TO HIT ON ME, AND YOU THOUGHT THAT I WAS SOMEBODY ELSE?”</p><p>“I- You dyed your hair.” Hawk stammered, now completely off his game.</p><p>“Yes, I dyed my hair! God, this is hilarious.” Evelyn adjusted her shoulders and her voice to mimic Hawk. “Hey, baby girl. You come here often? It’s not like I’ve known you since we were six or anything.”</p><p>Hawk’s face was as red as his hair. “Shut up.” </p><p>“No, seriously. I think it’s flattering. <em> The </em>Hawk deigned to hit on poor little me.” Evelyn put her hand on her chest, which just made him blush even harder.</p><p>“Shut up!” Hawk insisted.</p><p>“Okay, I’m sorry.” Evelyn was trying to be sincere, but Tory’s laughter made it hard.</p><p>“Bye.” Hawk turned, and scurried away.</p><p>Evelyn burst into giggles the second that he was out of earshot. “Hawk just tried to hit on me!”</p><p>“He totally did!” Tory wrapped her arm around Evelyn’s shoulders when they were both done laughing. “Come on. Let’s go inside, and see if anyone else tries to hit on you.”</p><p>“Not complaining or anything, but I don’t think that they will. Everyone’s gonna think that we’re dating.” Evelyn gestured to the arm.</p><p>“Right.” Tory promptly removed it. “Sorry.”</p><p>“You’re good.” Evelyn smiled, but it instantly faded as they walked inside, and saw the rest of Miyagi-Do standing there.</p><p>While Evelyn technically was a member of that dojo, all of them knew where her allegiances lay. Robby’s eyes were wide, and completely fixed on her. If Robby could form coherent thoughts, they would probably be something along the lines of <em> this is how I die </em>. However, he could not form coherent thoughts. All he could see was her black jumpsuit, her hot pink waves, and her eyes meeting his. The tension between Sam and Tory was palpable, but the tension between him and Evelyn was a whole different kind.</p><p>“Come on, Ev.” Tory turned, and walked away. Evelyn glanced one last time over her shoulder at Robby, before following her.</p><p>Demetri moved next to Robby, placing his hand beneath Robby’s chin and closing his mouth. “Friendly reminder that you’re staring at my sister.”</p><p>Demetri’s words finally snapped Robby out of his daze. “Sorry. What’d you say?”</p><p>Sam rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna go get a drink. See you later.”</p><p>“Shit.” Robby winced, realizing how badly he’d messed up. “Sam, come on.”</p><p>“Your plan totally worked!” Tory smacked Evelyn on the arm excitedly. “Did you see the way that Keene was staring at you? He was basically taking your clothes off with his super-dreamy eyes<em> . </em>” Tory said teasingly, having heard an unfortunate amount of comments from Evelyn about Robby’s eyes.</p><p>Evelyn flushed. “He was not. Anyways, I’m over him. For real this time.” </p><p>“I didn’t say you weren’t over him.” Tory shrugged. “You’re just making him want what he can’t have. It’s fun! And, LaRusso looked pissed. That should be enough fun in and of itself.”</p><p>“That’s very true.” Making Sam upset was both easy, and very fun. But, Evelyn saw Miguel as she was walking outside with Tory, making Evelyn stop in her tracks.</p><p>“Ev. Talk to him. <em> Now. </em>” </p><p>“But I don’t wan-” Evelyn’s complaints were cut off by Tory dragging her by the arm to where Miguel was standing.</p><p>“Miguel, this is Ev. Ev, Miguel.” Tory took Miguel and Evelyn’s right hands, and forced them to shake. “You used to be friends. Remember?” </p><p>“Hi.” Evelyn was staring at her shoes, and Miguel responded with a nod. </p><p>“Come on. Just talk. For me?” There was another pout, which neither Evelyn nor Miguel could say no to. </p><p>So, Evelyn pulled Miguel away, where nobody could hear their conversation. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hi.” Miguel’s hands were in his pockets, and his brow was furrowed and he was biting his lip the same way that he was that fateful night. </p><p>She sighed. “Please don’t do that.” </p><p>“Do what?” He looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time in almost a month.</p><p>“That. What you’re doing.” She gestured vaguely to his entire body. “You’re making this too hard.”</p><p>“What the hell am I doing that’s making this too hard for you? We haven’t spoken in a month, in case you forgot.” Miguel pointed out, running his hand through his hair. “I’ve been giving you space. Just like you asked for.”</p><p>She scoffed. “I said that I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I didn’t say that I wanted you out of my life completely.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, but I was embarrassed. I told you that I had feelings for you, and you said that you were in love with Robby.”</p><p>“Would you rather me have led you on and acted like everything was fine when I was still hung up on him?” Evelyn asked. “I turned you down to be respectful of your feelings, Miguel. Not to hurt them.”</p><p>“Well, you did,” he admitted. She couldn’t say anything as she looked at him, leading him to his next question. “Did you ever like me, or was I really just a rebound? Because some of that stuff felt real.”</p><p>“I do think that at some point I liked you.” Evelyn’s hand twitched slightly. “But, it doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“Why doesn’t it matter?”</p><p>“We’re in the past. You’re with Tory. I don’t go after guys with girlfriends. Or girls with boyfriends. Or people with-” Evelyn stopped herself before she listed off every possible combination. “Whatever. You know what I mean. I’m not doing to Tory what Sam did to me. I want us to be friends again, but I’m still mad at you.”</p><p>“Why are you mad at me again?” Miguel asked.</p><p>She was starting to get sick of him asking very obvious questions. “Because you accused me of going out with you to get back at Sam.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Miguel rolled his eyes. “Still not convinced that I’m wrong.”</p><p>“Is it so hard to accept that at some point, I <em> did </em>have feelings for you?”</p><p>He looked at her, his heart aching. “Then why did you break up with me?” </p><p>“Because I wasn’t ready for a relationship,” she repeated. “It had been a week since I got cheated on. It’s understandable, if you could think about somebody other than yourself for two seconds.”</p><p>“I don’t think that you were thinking about anybody other than yourself, either. It's not like you were thinking about Robby when you were with me.” Miguel said, a slight smirk on his face.</p><p>A horrifying realization dawned on her.</p><p>“This- I- Oh, my God.” Evelyn took a step back from him, her hands held up in front of her. “This was about Robby. You think that I went out with you to make Sam upset, but you went out with me to get back at- Oh, my God.” She ran a hand through her hair. “You kissed me as some sick power play to make Robby mad because he’s dating Sam. Of course this was about Sam.” She normally wouldn’t have reacted this strongly, but guys using her to get to Sam was an all too familiar subject. That’s exactly what had been happening her entire life. “I can’t believe that I actually believed you when you said that you liked me. God, how could I have been so <em> stupid? </em>”</p><p>“Ev, wait!” Miguel called after her, but she was already gone.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>“Well, look who it is.” Tory called, seeing Sam and Robby walk outside. “Maybe you’d like to play a little game? Or are tea parties more your speed, princess?”</p><p>Sam crossed her arms, immediately on edge. “Just give me a cup.” </p><p>“All right.” Tory turned away from Sam and climbed up on her stool.</p><p>Robby came up next to Sam, more concerned for her than anything. “Are you sure you wanna do this?”</p><p>“What, you don’t think that I can beat her?”</p><p>“It’s not that.” Robby hated seeing Sam like this. With all that he's been through with his mom and her addiction, it was hard to watch someone else he cared about start down that path. He knew that Sam was smart and that she could handle herself, but his mom was smart too, and now she was in rehab. He was jolted out of his spiral by the sight of Sam wobbling. Tory's eyes glimmered as she sensed victory drawing near. <em> Not so fast, Tory. </em> Robby thought as he saw Sam take a deep breath and center herself, and then down the shot.</p><p>“You got this, Tory!” yelled Stingray. Robby had no idea what he was doing here, since he seemed about 35, and he also had two bottles of alcohol duct-taped to his hands.</p><p>Tory turned to look at Stingray, and fell off of her stool. Robby winced. That looked painful.</p><p>“Guess somebody couldn't hold their alcohol, huh?” Sam taunted.</p><p>The smug look in her eyes was starting to scare Robby. The person standing on this stool wasn’t acting like the Sam that he fell for. The Sam he fell for was kind and smart, not petty and mean. Robby, always the gentleman, helped Sam down from her stool and went to go grab her some water.</p><p>Evelyn noticed the look on Robby’s face when she saw him standing in the kitchen, holding a glass of water in his hand. As hard as she tried to force her gaze away, he was still her friend. She’d promised herself that she wasn’t going to waste her time pining for him anymore. She didn’t promise herself that she would stop caring about her friends. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey, Ev.” His eyes flicked back downward towards her outfit, but he was still clearly dejected about something. “You look nice. I like your hair.”</p><p>She smiled at him. “Thanks. You, too.”</p><p>“Thanks.” He grimaced weakly in return.</p><p>“Come on. Tell me what’s happening. You look really upset.” </p><p>“I’m fine.” This was a lie, and both of them knew it.</p><p>“You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong, right? That’s what friends are for.” Evelyn reassured him. “I’m here for you.”</p><p>Robby glanced around the room, seeing that it was completely full of people who could overhear his deepest secrets about his mom. “I want to talk to you, but not here.”</p><p>“We can talk in my car,” she suggested. “There’s nobody in there.”</p><p>“Do you think Sam will be okay if she sees us talking in your car?” he asked. “I don’t want her to think that we’re… you know.”</p><p>“We’re just friends. You’ve moved on, and I’ve moved on.” This affirmation hurt both of their hearts, but soothed his worries about Sam. “I promise that Sam has no reason to worry.”</p><p>“Okay.” Robby followed her to her car, climbing into the backseat. His back was pressed up against the locked door, feet up on the seat as he faced her. It was slightly cramped, but at least there nobody could overhear them.</p><p>“So, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Evelyn asked.</p><p>“It’s my mom. She’s back.”</p><p>Evelyn’s eyes widened. “Oh. Is that a good thing?”</p><p>He shrugged. “I guess. She’s going to rehab.”</p><p>“Is <em> that </em>a good thing?” Evelyn had no idea how to handle situations with his mom. She wanted to give the situation the respect that it deserved, while simultaneously handling his feelings in a way that he didn’t feel uncomfortable.</p><p>“I think so. She said that she wanted to change for me. Be a better mom.” Robby fiddled with the sleeves of his jean jacket, still looking dejected.</p><p>“I’m sorry that you have to deal with all of that. How are you feeling?”</p><p>“I’m feeling a lot of things,” he admitted. “It’s complicated.”</p><p>“Like what?” Evelyn didn’t want to pry, but she thought that it might make him feel better to talk about it. Bottling up emotions never did her any good.</p><p>“I’m happy that she’s finally changing, I’m angry because it took her this long to finally get to the point where she can admit that she needs help, and I’m sad.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just wish things were different.”</p><p>“What do you wish was different?” </p><p>Robby looked over at Evelyn, and decided that if he was going to be really honest with someone about how much he’d been through, he wanted it to be her. “I wish that I could’ve just had a normal childhood. I wish that I didn’t know so much about how to take care of a person who’s been drinking, or exactly how many painkillers to give them in the morning depending on how they acted when they came home. I wish that I didn’t learn to put on headphones whenever my mom brought a guy home. I wish I didn’t learn that the hard way.”</p><p>The weight of his words washed over Evelyn, sending her reeling with concern for him. This was the most that he’d ever told her about his home life, and now she understood why he wasn’t eager to divulge information about it. </p><p>Robby was officially on a roll, all of the pain and anguish that he’d been through spilling past his lips. He’d finally started, and now he couldn’t stop. “I wish that I’d learned about what happens when you miss bills when my parents were teaching me about how to be an adult, not when I was 12 and the lights shut off and I had no idea why. I wish that I had a person who took care of me, and I wasn’t always the one taking care of other people. Sure, my mom was there for me when I was a kid, but she’s not there anymore. I’m really grateful to the LaRussos for taking me in. I don’t know where I would be without them. It’s just…”</p><p>He took a deep breath, his sigh coming out as a buzz through his pursed lips. “I feel so out of place with them. Even though I know that they want me there, I’m always going to be the guy they took in because they felt bad that his mom abandoned him.” His jaw tensed, and he chewed on the outside of his lip before saying his final, and most heartbreaking, wish. “I wish for a lot of things, but the thing that I wish for the most is that I’ll stop feeling so alone.”</p><p>Evelyn didn’t know what to say to that. She knew that no words could make it better, no words could fix the lifetime of trauma that he’d endured. All she could do was reach for his shaking hands, and hold onto them tightly. “I’m here, Robby. You’re not alone anymore.”</p><p>“The only person who I’ve ever really felt like myself with is you, you know.” Robby was just staring at their hands, not quite knowing how to feel. But, he knew one thing: for the first time in a month, he was home. </p><p>“Same.” Evelyn admitted. “I’m really sorry about what’s happening with your mom. I know that there’s nothing I can do to fix it, but just know that I’m here for you.”</p><p>A soft smile spread across his face. “Thanks for being here. It means a lot.” </p><p>“Of course I’ll be here.” Evelyn scooted all the way over to him, asking permission before pulling him into a tight but gentle hug. “Thanks for feeling comfortable enough to tell me all that. I had no idea.”</p><p>“Nobody does. You’re the only person I’ve told this stuff to.” Robby said.</p><p>“Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “I know that I can’t fix it, but I still want to make you feel better.” </p><p>“Just be here. Don’t leave me.” He wrapped his arms even tighter around her, never wanting to let her go. She could've stayed there with him forever, wholly unaware of the fact that Sam was watching them. To say that Sam wasn’t happy to see Robby hugging his ex, who he’d reassured her numerous times wasn’t a threat to their relationship - and who he was quite literally checking out earlier - would be an understatement.</p><p>“I’ll never leave you. I promise.” This was a different promise than the one that she made to herself that morning, but this was a promise that she was far more likely to keep. </p><p>Robby was the one to finally pull away, taking in every inch of her face with his eyes. “I’m really glad that we’re okay. I think we made the right decision to break up when we did, before things got worse.”</p><p>“Yeah. We made the right decision.” Evelyn noticed Sam watching them, and her eyes widened. “Um, Robby?”</p><p>“Yeah?” Robby asked, slightly confused at her change in tone.</p><p>She nodded in Sam’s direction. “I think you might need to go talk to her.”</p><p>He swore quietly, climbing out of Evelyn’s car without another word and going after his girlfriend. Again.</p><p><em> Well, that was interesting. </em> Evelyn locked her doors and ambled back inside, beyond confused at what that interaction with Robby meant. Sure, they were just friends, but did friends really say stuff like that to each other? She’d never said ‘The only person who I’ve ever felt like myself with is you’ to Tory. Was that a thing that friends did?</p><p>Evelyn didn’t think so.</p><p>But, her questions were immediately forgotten at the sight of Demetri standing in front of a microphone. “A toast to Eli Moskowitz. I'm sorry. Some of you might know him as Hawk.” Demetri corrected himself. “Underneath that crazy clown cosplay and whatever type of Manic Panic he dumps in his hair, he’s still good old Eli. My binary brother. Well, he <em> was </em>my binary brother. You know what he is now? A real zero.”</p><p>Demetri made a zero with his hand, and the rest of the people at the party laughed.</p><p>“Alright, that’s enough, Demetri.” Hawk glared at Demetri, who pointedly ignored it.</p><p>“Don’t let the angry red hairdo fool you. He's a big softie. We watched every single <em> Harry Potter </em>movie together. And he bawled like a baby when Dobby died.” Demetri said, fake sobbing for emphasis.</p><p>Evelyn’s heart was sinking lower and lower with each word that Demetri said. She didn't understand how her brother could just turn on his friend like that. Hawk had trusted him with those secrets, and he was just spilling them to the entire student body. Over what? A karate feud? She couldn’t just stand there and watch him any more, so she went up and tried to take the microphone out of his hands. “Demetri, stop it.”</p><p>“Alright, if he doesn’t shut up, I’m gonna shut him up.” Hawk’s voice came from across the room, but she could still hear it clearly.</p><p>But, she also heard Mitch stop him. “Remember what Sensei said about showing mercy.” </p><p>She tried to stop Demetri again, but he shook her off and continued. “In the words of Eli’s hero, Steve Jobs, ‘I’ve got one more thing.’ Have any of you heard of sleep enuresis?”</p><p>“Demetri, <em> don’t. </em>This isn’t worth it.” Evelyn warned him.</p><p>“Would you rather me tell these fine people things about you?” Demetri retorted. “Because I can.”</p><p>Evelyn looked over at Hawk, then at Robby, and nodded. “Do your worst.”</p><p>“So, my sister here has decided that she’d rather all of you know the truth about her instead. Ev’s always been the most loyal person, willing to take the fall even for people who tried to beat up her only brother.” Demetri clapped her on the shoulder mockingly. “But, I wouldn’t call going over to Miguel’s the night that she broke up with Robby - her boyfriend of two months - loyal, would you?”</p><p>The crowd ‘ooh’ed at his words, making Evelyn’s face flush with embarrassment. But, that embarrassment was nothing compared to how she felt when she saw the look on Robby’s face. He was trying as hard as he could to not feel hurt (he was with Sam and they had broken up, after all), but he was struggling. Robby did know that she had gone out with Miguel, but he thought that she’d at least waited a few days. </p><p>“I’m so sorry.” He waved his hand reassuringly, though. It was okay. He just had to keep reminding himself that who she kissed stopped being his business the second that they broke up.</p><p>Demetri noticed that his words were having an effect on Evelyn, and he really started to feel bad. But, then he looked over at Hawk, and remembered that she was protecting the person who’d caused him so much pain. “Shall I keep going? Or shall I tell everyone here about Eli’s little <em> medical </em>problem?”</p><p>Evelyn’s eyes were still on Robby. “Keep going.” </p><p>“Well, the story of Ev and Miguel doesn’t end there, does it?” Demetri asked the partygoers. “They started ‘dating,’ if you can call it that. My sister made him promise that there were no strings attached. Until one day, she went with him to a party at the beach. At the party, Miguel announced that he had feelings for her.”</p><p>This made the crowd gasp and cheer Demetri on. Which, of course, he ate up the attention. He’d already gotten this far in the story. He might as well take it all the way home. Nobody had ever paid attention to what Demetri wanted to say before. There had never been a cheering crowd of people who wanted to hear him talk. That night, Demetri wasn’t drunk on alcohol. He was drunk on power.</p><p>“So, he asks her out. Does she say yes?” He looked around at their friends, who were shaking their heads. “No, she doesn’t. Because she’s still in love with the guy that cheated on her.” </p><p>Evelyn couldn’t look at Robby. Her wounded look would immediately give away the fact that Demetri was telling the truth.</p><p>“She was even flirting with Eli tonight!” Demetri hadn’t quite realized that he’d already gone too far. “I guess going out with two guys and breaking their hearts wasn’t enough for her.”</p><p>Evelyn turned to her brother, not recognizing the look on his face, as hard as she tried. The Demetri that she grew up with would never say something like that in front of all their friends. “You’re such an asshole, Demetri.”</p><p>Robby shook his head disapprovingly at Demetri before going after her. “Ev, wait.”</p><p>Evelyn’s voice was quiet. “Come to lecture me about my terrible life decisions, or is that just Demetri’s job?”</p><p>“I’m not coming to lecture you. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. He said…” Robby grimaced. “A lot of stuff.”</p><p>“Yeah. I’m fine. That was all a long time ago. Like I said, we’ve both moved on.” These words somehow hurt Robby even worse than the ones that she spoke earlier. “We’re just friends now, and-”</p><p>She was cut off by the sound of sirens soaring through the air. People started flooding in every direction, forcing Robby to finally look away from her. “Ev, I have to go find Sam. I’ll text you tomorrow, okay?”</p><p>“Okay.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>DEMETRI NO!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br/>also robby's scene where he finally opens up to her about his trauma</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>school fight!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: cyberbullying! yay! after what demetri said at the party, evelyn is getting a lot of hate. i never explicitly say what people say to her, but it’s very heavily implied that it’s rooted in misogyny and sl*t-shaming</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Robby :)</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Where are you?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m at the LaRussos</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. LaRusso kicked me out</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You’re joking</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m definitely not</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What happened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the party I took Sam back to my dad’s apartment. She asked me not to take her home because she didn’t want him to see her drunk</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He found out and said a lot of stuff</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What’d he say?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basically that having me in his life was a mistake</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hope Mr. LaRusso is ready to get his ass kicked</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m in their driveway</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>See you when I’m done</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Please don’t make this any worse</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fine. I won’t</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m really sorry though. That’s some bullshit</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah it is</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Have you talked to Sam yet?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She texted me and said that she’s been banned from talking to me and she’s sorry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m sorry, too</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>If Mr. L doesn’t want you in his life he doesn’t deserve you though</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You’re pretty cool</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You are, too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m really sorry about Demetri </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He shouldn’t have said all that stuff </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’ll be fine</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>I’m sorry you had to find out about how Miguel and I ended like that</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>You only saw some of it that night</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As long as you didn’t kiss him when we were dating </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn’t</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then it’s really none of my business</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>If you want to tell me about what happened as your friend, I wouldn’t mind that</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Can we talk face to face? I can come to you or you can come to me</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Don’t really want to have the “what happened with my mortal enemy after we broke up” conversation over text</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>My dad’s not home but you can come here</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You’re inviting me over when your dad’s not home?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>That seems a little forward 😳</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ev. Please.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joking, sorry</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn knocked on Robby’s door in approximately 20 minutes. As he pulled it open, she could see the look on his face. It was clear that the mention of what happened with the LaRussos was weighing on him. “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Come on in.” Robby closed the door behind them as she followed him inside, and then sat a respectable distance away from each other on his dad’s couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still having trouble believing the truth that he’d just admitted to her over text, of all things. “So, Mr. L really kicked you out? Because of Sam’s drinking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told him that it was my fault,” he admitted. “That I brought her here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you actually bring her here, or did she ask you to?” Evelyn asked pointedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby’s eyes flicked away. “She asked me to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such an idiot!” Evelyn exclaimed, before taking a deep breath and calming down. Calling him an idiot definitely was not going to help the situation. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. You’re not an idiot. I just meant that you don’t need to take the fall for everyone around you when stuff’s not your fault. That’s noble and all, but you gotta let Sam deal with her own mistakes, especially with her dad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s a little late for that. Mr. LaRusso is done with me.” He chewed on the outside of his lip, making her reach for one of his hands and take it in both of hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then that is his loss,” she reassured him. “Like I said, if he doesn’t want you in his life, he doesn’t deserve you. This is the second time he’s kicked you out for completely ridiculous reasons. You deserve better than the back and forth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby’s head dropped against the side of the couch, pulling her to face him, their legs intertwined. “You always know the exact right thing to say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s because I know you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a slight tension in the air, one that he broke with a quiet laugh. “Yeah. You do. Better than anyone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same.” Evelyn sighed, shaking her head slightly. “So, are you sure you wanna know about the whole Miguel thing? Because Demetri was pretty descriptive, and I understand if it might be weird for you to hear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to know what’s going on in your life.” Robby shrugged, still not letting go of her hand. “You might not be my girlfriend, but, like I said, you know me better than anyone else. You’re the only person who knows about all of my shit with my parents. I think we’re a little past being embarrassed about your problems with Diaz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words made her roll her eyes, but she was smiling. This wasn’t quite what she envisioned when she wanted to be just friends with Robby, but God knows that she wasn’t complaining about him being there. His knee touching hers, his hand holding hers. This was exactly where she was supposed to be. “Well, how much do you already know? I don’t want to repeat stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just start from the beginning. I’m a good listener.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Evelyn finally let go of his hand, flexing her fingers as she moved her hands away from him and to her knees. “So, you already know that I went over to Miguel’s after we broke up. I was sad, and he was there for me. I kissed him. We talked about it. He was the one to kiss me that time. Then his mom walked in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby snorted. “His mom walked in on you? That’s really funny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I ended up having dinner with Carmen that night, actually.” She smiled at the memory, despite how horrifically awkward it was in the moment. Carmen knew where to get good pizza.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re joking.” Hazel eyes met green, and the slight shake of her head told him that she was not joking. “Oh, Ev. You had dinner with his mom as your first date? Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t a date!” Evelyn protested. “Miguel and I were never dating. It was casual. No feelings involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh.” He shrugged. “I never expected you to do the casual dating thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what Tory said, actually.” She laughed a very quick laugh, that sounded more like a sniff than anything. “He asked me out the night of the beach party, and told me that he had real feelings for me. I turned him down. He accused me of kissing him to get back at Sam.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch.” Robby winced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. We didn’t speak for about a month. We talked again last night because we both care a lot about Tory, and wanted stuff to be okay between us for her.” Evelyn grimaced, not particularly loving that memory. “It went badly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby didn’t like that look on her face. ‘Badly’ must’ve been an understatement. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I be really, really honest with you?” Evelyn asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were arguing, and he said ‘You weren’t thinking about Robby when you were with me, were you?’” Her voice was high and mocking, a futile attempt to disguise how hurt she was. “That just made me realize that he was only in it with me to get back at you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re messing with me.” Evelyn shook her head again, which just ignited a blast of anger towards Miguel, one that he quickly suppressed. As much as he wanted to go kick down Miguel’s apartment door (and then kick his teeth in), Robby knew that it wouldn’t help. “Diaz is an asshole, then. I can’t believe that he would do something like that to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It really sucks. He said that he liked me, but I guess I was just being lied to.” She shrugged, and then turned her eyes to the wall. “I’m used to guys using me to get to Sam. Don’t know why it’s so surprising.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that he was lying, though. Maybe he was just-” Robby shuddered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Using you to get back at me for dating Sam </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a sentence that he didn’t particularly want to speak. “Maybe he was doing what you think he did, but I do think that at least part of him did like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter, though. I turned him down, even before he said all that stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you turn him down? I saw you at the party, and you looked really happy with him.” He was trying to act as nonchalant as he possibly could. Thinking about Evelyn being happy with Miguel was very conflicting. He wanted her to be happy more than anything. But happy with Miguel Diaz? Robby didn’t love that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You broke my heart,” she admitted. “I wasn’t ready for something like we had. When he said that he wanted a relationship, I just panicked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you broke my heart, too!” Robby’s voice was higher than usual, making her suck in a breath through her teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both quiet for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby was the one to finally try again. “When I met you, I was nobody. I was this loser who was never going to do anything with his life besides steal computers and deal drugs with the guys I sent to prison because they hurt you. God, Ev. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>made me somebody. Being with you made me want to be better. Loving you made me want to be a better guy, a better boyfriend, a better everything. When I found out that you were with Diaz, I kind of felt like I was dying. I’d never really loved somebody before, but I know that I loved you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I loved you, too.” The words slipped easily off of her tongue. “I think that part of me’s always gonna love you, even though we’ve both moved on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby’s mouth was slightly curved at the side. “Why didn’t we just talk like this when we were dating? So many problems could’ve been avoided.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t have broken up with you in the first place.” Her voice was very quiet, forcing herself to look away so that she didn’t show the truth that she was feeling. “I know that it’s too late for this, but I’m sorry for breaking your heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tilted his head downwards, accepting her apology. “I’m sorry for breaking yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a moment, where he looked at her, and she looked right back at him. So many words unsaid, words that would blow up and reduce the fabric of their lives into charred strings. But, they couldn’t. He was with Sam, and he thought that she’d moved on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby blinked once, and the moment was over. “You wanna watch some TV? My dad’s out, and there’s ice cream in the freezer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn smiled. “That sounds perfect.”</span>
</p><p><span>Halfway through the first episode,</span> <span>Evelyn’s phone buzzed. She picked it up, winced, and immediately put it back down. Robby glanced over at her, slightly concerned. “You okay?”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Evelyn plastered on a fake smile. “I’m good. Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Robby was not convinced, especially not after it happened again. “Come on. Just tell me what’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bit the inside of her cheek really hard. “It’s nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won’t judge you.” Evelyn thought about it for a second, before pulling out her phone and showing him the messages that she’d been getting that morning. “Holy shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn shook her head, her lips pursed as she tried not to let the truth make her cry. “I guess this is what I get for going out with two guys and breaking their hearts, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait. This is about what Demetri said?” Robby’s face fell as she nodded. “No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He basically accused me of sleeping around, and now all of these people are saying that they agree,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Robby could see a tear slip down her cheek, and he brushed it off with the pad of his thumb. “This is really horrible. The only people who get to have opinions on your relationships are the people who are involved. It’s none of Demetri’s business, and it’s definitely none of these people’s business.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for saying that.” Evelyn could hear her phone buzz, which made her stifle a sob. Getting bullied was bad enough. Knowing that it was only happening because of her brother? That was insurmountable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Come here.” Robby laid back on the couch, his back pressed up against the arm. He opened his arms, so she laid back into them, their hands intertwined on her stomach. Robby pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and started to block all of the accounts that were sending her messages. Once he was sure that no trace of the hate was left behind, he put it back down and just focused on her. “I’m really sorry that this is happening.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault.” Evelyn’s head was nestled underneath his, her pink hair touching his chin. I’m sorry about Mr. L.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” As Robby held her in his arms, both of them were thinking the same thing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It can’t possibly get any worse than this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like many other students at West Valley High School, Evelyn had absolutely no idea what was about to happen that next day. All she could think about was that she would have to see Miguel again. Miguel, who had used her to get back at Robby. At least she would get to see Tory, though. Tory had definitely been acting weird since the party, but Evelyn tried to brush it off. She was probably just nervous because school was starting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whispers surrounded her as she walked through the hallways, her arms crossed in front of her stomach. She was just brushing them all off, even though the words that she could hear stung. They were calling her a lot of highly unsavory words, but the subtext beneath those words was clear: everyone had heard about her and Miguel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw Aisha and Miguel standing in the hallway as she walked to her first class, and a burst of pain flooded through her at the sight of him. Their eyes met, and for a second she wanted to go over to him, but she didn’t. Not after what he did. Evelyn forced herself to tear her eyes away from him and go to her homeroom. A familiar face greeted her as she poked her head inside the door of the computer lab. “Hey, Ev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Evelyn sat down at the chair right next to him. “How’s it going?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby glanced around the room. “Being back in school is weirder than I expected, honestly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started to laugh at the look on his face. “How did I forget that you dropped out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m back now. My emo skater bad boy days - as you used to call them - are over. I’m really gonna change. Do things differently,” Robby proclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so proud of you.” Evelyn smiled, squeezing his hand before quickly relinquishing it. That’s not something that friends did. Another whisper came from behind her at the sight of her and Robby’s intertwined hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was the first one that Robby had heard, and he instantly whirled around to face the person sitting behind them. “What did you just call her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine-” Evelyn started, but he didn’t stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now people are saying stuff to your face? This has gone too far.” Robby stood up, making her eyes widen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby, don’t-” she started again, but he wasn’t about to let people get away with saying horrible stuff to her anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From now on, if any of you wanna call Ev names, you’re going to be answering to me.” He saw the look on the teacher’s face, and immediately started backtracking. “This is not a threat! I don’t believe in violence. But, if you say something, I’m gonna have some words for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn grabbed him by the sleeve, and tugged him back down to sitting. “You’re gonna get called into the principal’s office on your very first day back at school. Was that worth it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it was worth it. I’m not gonna get called into the office, though. Don’t worry, princess. That really wasn’t a threat.” This was true. “I just want people to know that they can’t say shit to you and get away with it. I’ll talk to them, just like I talked to Demetri.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Demetri didn’t say a single word to Evelyn as he got out of the passenger’s seat of her car that morning. He didn’t want to talk to her just as much as she didn’t want to talk to him. After everything that Hawk had done to him, she had the audacity to defend him. But, Robby was waiting right next to his locker when he got to it. “Demetri. How are you feeling?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Demetri was extremely confused. “I’m fine?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You shouldn’t be feeling fine. You should feel terrible about what you did to Ev.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Now Demetri understood why Robby’s arms were crossed. He contemplated turning and running for a second, but he knew that Robby would be able to catch up to him. “My sister and I fighting is none of your business.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Robby raised his eyebrows slightly. He definitely wasn’t expecting Demetri to say something like that. “It became my business when she spent Saturday crying in my apartment because she’s getting cyberbullied. Because of you. Because of what you said about her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? She’s getting cyberbullied?” Demetri asked, having not a single clue what effect his words had on Evelyn’s life.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah.” Robby shuddered. “People are messaging her and calling her really horrible names that I’m not gonna repeat.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Demetri’s face fell. “They’re doing this because of me?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah. They’re doing this because of what you said about her.” Robby’s reminder just made Demetri’s heart sink even more. “How the hell could you do this? Do you have anything to say for yourself?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She was defending Hawk!” Demetri insisted, back on the defense at Robby’s attitude.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Robby had to force himself not to say what he wanted to. That would just make this situation worse. But, he wasn’t about to let Demetri off easy. “That’s a terrible reason. I hope you’re seriously not using that to justify getting your own sister cyberbullied.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I didn’t want her to get cyberbullied,” he protested.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Robby threw his hands up. “What did you think was going to happen? What did you </span>
  </em>
  <span>want </span>
  <em>
    <span>to happen?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know what I wanted,” Demetri admitted.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, you really hurt her.” Robby’s eyes met Demetri’s. “I know that it’s hurting her even more to not talk to you, but if I were her, I wouldn’t talk to you until you apologized.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t,” Evelyn said, only slightly disapproving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby nodded. “I did. He was being an asshole, and somebody needed to tell him that saying stuff like that - and especially not about you - isn’t okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. I know that you can defend your own honor, but you shouldn’t have to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were quickly distracted by a clamor over the PA system. “Hey! You’re not supposed to be in here! No. No! Give that back!” Evelyn heard the microphone squeal, and a pair of hands grab it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Samantha LaRusso.” Evelyn's blood instantly turned to ice. She would recognize that voice anywhere. “You know what you did, and now you're gonna pay for it. I’m coming for you, bitch!” Tory slammed the microphone down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn stood up, and started sprinting towards the hallway. She knew Tory Nichols better than anyone, and that was definitely not Tory’s peaceful tone. There was a fight about to happen, and Evelyn would be damned if she wasn’t going to stop it. Robby was keeping pace right next to her, hair flying as he rounded the corner and saw Tory and Sam facing off in the middle of the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She figured that there were a ton of reasons that Sam and Tory would be fighting, but it was probably about Miguel. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evelyn thought, grimacing. She knew that Tory deserved better than Miguel. He wasn’t over Sam - or Evelyn, for that matter - when they started dating, and now all of that baggage had just been dumped onto Tory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw what you did at the party,” Tory said to Sam, but loud enough that everyone else could hear her. “You kissed Miguel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of all the things that Tory could’ve said, none would’ve shocked Evelyn less. It was clear now that Sam’s habit of kissing people’s boyfriends wasn’t just reserved for her former best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd gasped at Tory’s words, and Evelyn could clearly see Robby’s heart break. Her heart was breaking for him, too. As much as it hurt her to admit it, he truly did care about Sam. Now Sam was just another name on the long list of people that had hurt him. Sam started to say something, to defend herself in some way, but no words came out. Tory lunged towards Sam, her punch sailing over Sam’s head as they began to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn struggled with herself as she watched Sam and Tory fight, before swearing loudly and running in after them. “Tory. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tor. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Stop it. Stop fighting!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why the hell are you the one stopping me?” Tory didn’t stop fighting Sam, her yells rising over the sounds of fighting. “She kissed your boyfriend, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but we can figure this out some other way. Please,” Evelyn protested, trying to grab Tory’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was a mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tory whirled around, shoving Evelyn as hard as she could into the opposite set of lockers. Thankfully Evelyn’s head was unscathed, but the wind was still knocked out of her as her back connected with the hard metal. The realization that Tory would actually hurt her was even more painful than being thrown into the lockers. Robby ran into the hallway, helping Evelyn off of the ground and out of the way of the fight - “You okay, Ev?” - before turning to Tory and Sam. He grabbed Tory’s arm, flipping her around and putting his hand gently on her chest. Not enough to hurt her or choke her, just enough to keep her still. “Stop! We can figure this out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel ran around the corner, and saw Robby’s hands on Tory. He didn’t do anything, though. Not until Doug tried to intervene, and Miguel saw Robby kick him. Miguel instantly ran up to Robby, and tackled him. A scream rose up in Evelyn’s throat. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!” She started to run after Robby and Miguel, but she was quickly grabbed around the waist and pulled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out of the way!” Hawk insisted. “You’re gonna get hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when do you care about what happens to m-” Evelyn quickly slid to the right as a pair flew past her and Hawk, entangled in their fight. “God! This is ridiculous!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just get out of the way, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Hawk grabbed her hand, and started dragging her down the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when do you care about what happens to me?” Evelyn repeated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since you let Demetri tell the entire school about you and Miguel just so he wouldn’t talk about my…” His eyes darted around at the reminder of how close Demetri got to sharing his biggest secret. “Well, you know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. That was awful. Demetri shouldn’t have been telling any of your secrets, but especially not that one.” Her words, as gentle as they were, just increased Hawk’s fervor as he continued to pull her by the hand. “Hawk, where the hell are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hawk responded by shoving her into a classroom, closing the door, and blocking her escape with a desk he found in the hallway. “Stay here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not just gonna stay here! HAWK!” Evelyn protested loudly, struggling with the door. Unfortunately for her, the door opened outwards, and the desk was very clearly blocking it. She shoved her shoulder against the door, not feeling it budge an inch. She tried again, and again, feeling frustration boil over when it still didn’t move. So, Evelyn took a step back, and surveyed the situation, trying to think of the facts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact one: Tory had started a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact two: Robby and Miguel were fighting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact three: She couldn’t stop it because Hawk had locked her in a classroom</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact four: Hawk cared about her safety?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact five: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Since when did Hawk care about her safety???</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Fact six: She needed to get out before someone got seriously hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As hard as Evelyn wished that she wasn’t in the classroom and that she could help, Robby probably wouldn’t have let her out. Even if he wasn’t busy fighting Miguel, he would’ve agreed with Hawk that her safety was more important. “You can’t cheat your way out of this one,” Robby said, still seething from his painful loss at the All Valley tournament.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel headbutted Robby. “Like that move? Learned it from your DAD!” He shoved Robby, sending him flying. Miguel noticed yelling coming from behind him, and turned to see Sam and Tory fighting on the staircase. He ran up to check on Sam and Tory, only to be stopped by Robby, who jumped up onto the staircase and kicked Miguel in the chest. Miguel continued to fight him, but the entire time he was thinking about how to stop Sam and Tory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby got distracted fighting a group of other Cobras, and Miguel took this opportunity to run up the stairs towards Sam and Tory. He ran towards Tory, and grabbed her shoulder. “Tory, enough!” Tory didn’t stop, though. She stared directly at Miguel, and kicked him into a column. Miguel lay there, completely stunned. He couldn’t believe that Tory had just hurt him. She looked at Miguel without an ounce of regret in her eyes, and then turned back to Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the first level of the stairs, Robby was fighting two guys at once. His carefully curated skill and coordination helped him take down both of them, and then he ran up the stairs to stop Sam and Tory. However, his efforts were stopped by Miguel, who tripped him as he ran up the stairs. They began fighting with a newfound vigor. Little did they know that this vigor, and their rivalry, would almost kill one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it!” Evelyn kicked at the door again and again, furious at herself for letting Hawk trap her in a room. She’d never felt more useless in her entire life. The fact that a desk was what was stopping her was beyond humiliating. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>desk</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of all things. She swore even louder, and pushed even harder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she thought that she would never get out, Bert heard her yells from down the hallway and saw the desk moving repeatedly. So, he ran over, struggling with the weight of the desk for a minute before managing to push it away and get her out of the classroom. “Hi, Ev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Bert! Thanks for finally getting me out of there.” Evelyn beamed at the sight of him, and at the sight of the open door. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” His words made her ruffle his hair affectionately, before running to the front of the school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She, thanks to Hawk, was completely uninjured, so she was able to get to where the fight was still raging in a matter of minutes. Another scream bubbled up in her throat as she saw what was happening at the top of the staircase. “ROBBY!” She started running even faster towards the staircase, desperate to get to him. Desperate to stop this. Evelyn was pushing herself as hard as she could, but in the end she just wasn’t fast enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Miguel had Robby pinned to the ground, and was poised to break his arm. Miguel was just about to do it when he heard the words of his sensei echoing in his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I wasn't taught the difference between mercy and honor, and I paid the price for it.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Miguel realized that what he was about to do was unforgivable, and so he let Robby’s arm go. “I’m sorry.” Miguel stood up, and walked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, Robby didn’t stop. The combination of fear, adrenaline and pure rage made it impossible for Robby to make rational decisions in that moment. All Robby knew was that Miguel had taken advantage of Sam and Evelyn. Robby kicked, and before either of them knew what was happening, Miguel was flying backwards over the edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time was moving in slow motion. Time was still, everything had stopped, and Evelyn couldn’t breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Speaking of your mom…” Evelyn moved slightly closer to him. “Where is she?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She’s working tonight, and my yaya’s at her poker game with church friends. Neither of them should be home until late. Why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Because I don’t want them to be here when I do this.” Evelyn leaned over, and kissed Miguel. His lips were soft, and his hand was holding her face like she was the most precious thing in the entire world. The kiss was sweet, and far more gentle than she could’ve expected from someone who was taught, as she was, to strike hard. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Miguel pulled away slowly, a spark of electricity zinging through them as their eyes met. “Ev, what are we doing? What about Robby?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Do you want to think about Robby?” Her eye contact was hypnotizing, her breath dusting across his lips. “Or do you want to kiss me?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn quickly flashed back to reality as she heard Tory’s voice. “MIGUEL!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound that Miguel’s back made as it hit that railing was a sound that would haunt Evelyn for the rest of her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!” Evelyn screamed, her legs collapsing out from under her. Her breath was shaky, her eyes filling with tears as she stared at Miguel’s fallen body, laying at the very bottom of the staircase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Robby, what did you do?” Sam asked, sending daggers through Robby’s heart. Robby didn’t mean to kick Miguel. It was an accident, but nobody cares about whether it’s an accident when somebody dies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn couldn’t breathe. Staring at the still figure of Miguel Diaz, one of the most important people in her life, was too much for her poor heart to bear. She wanted more than anything to reach down and brush his hair off of his face, to pull his broken body into her arms, to take away a sliver of his pain, but she knew better than to touch him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Footsteps turned at the top of the staircase, and she could hear them start to trail away. As she looked up and realized that it was Robby running away, she could actually feel her heart leave along with him. Before she could even take a second to reevaluate, she was standing up. Evelyn took one last look at the boy laying on the staircase, and then said the words that would completely change the trajectory of her life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodbye, Miguel.” Evelyn started to stand up, but she couldn’t bring herself to step over his body. She just couldn’t. So, she stepped off the staircase and ran down the hallway, ignoring the calls after her and following Robby’s path to the left. West Valley High might be a maze, but it was one that Evelyn knew well. If she could just beat him out into the parking lot, she would have a chance. They would have a chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demetri burst into the front of the school just in time to see a blur of pink hair and black Converse running down the hallway that he’d just come from. “Was that- </span>
  <em>
    <span>WAS THAT MY SISTER?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirens were echoing through Evelyn’s head while she sprinted, hearing the ambulances draw nearer. And with them, the police. The police that were inevitably going to come, but if she just ran fast enough, they would have a chance, she would have a chance, come on, come on, </span>
  <em>
    <span>come on. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Evelyn’s adrenaline spurred her on even quicker as she ran up the back staircase, until she stopped upon hearing muffled breaths coming from one of the English classrooms. She could immediately see how wounded Robby looked as she stepped inside, making sure that he could hear her footsteps so as not to startle him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get- back up,” Robby stammered, his entire body shaking. “It’s not safe. I’m- not safe. Get back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, honey.” Evelyn’s voice was gentle, and she was taking slow steps towards him. “It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He backed up so quickly that he almost tripped over a desk. “Stay back! I can’t hurt anybody here. I don’t want to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could never hurt me. It’s okay.” She made her voice even more gentle as she continued to walk towards him, her heart breaking when she saw him almost whimper with fear. “It’s okay. I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby took her outstretched hand, and used it to pull himself into her arms. His body was shaking as she held him, her smoothing back his hair with a still-gentle hand. “Ev, I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>scared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, sweetheart. I know,” Evelyn soothed. “Whatever you want to do, I’m right here, okay? If you want to go back downstairs-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. No, I- I can’t. I can’t do that.” Robby pulled back immediately, glancing around the room in a desperate attempt to find an escape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Look at me.” She could see him try to breathe, and then he looked at her forehead. Eye contact was too hard. “If you don’t want to go back downstairs, then you don’t have to do that. If you want to stay at my house for a few days while you figure some things out, I’ll hide you. If you want to run away, I’ll be right there by your side. No matter what you do, I’m here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took one deep breath, before nodding. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn didn’t quite know what that meant at first, but when she was standing in front of the back entrance to LaRusso Auto, she figured that he’d chosen to run away. That was fine, though. She was his person. She was his best friend. She was his family, and she wasn’t about to leave him alone after what just happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robby let go of her hand for just long enough to walk up to a door with a keypad next to it, and punch in a code. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He stepped through the door, disappearing into a dark room. Evelyn waited for a few minutes, her confusion multiplying at the sound of a car starting. The sounds continued until she saw Robby pull around the driveway in a Dodge Caravan. “Got your ride, princess. Are you ready to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Evelyn ran up to the car, and got in the passenger’s seat. “Ready!” This was, by far, the least crazy thing that had happened to either of them that day. They were quite literally on the run from the law. Car theft was the least of their problems.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Let’s go.” Robby pushed the gas pedal, and began driving away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they rounded the corner, Evelyn took one last look at the dealership, realizing what she was leaving behind. But then she turned to look at Robby, and all of her doubts were gone. She knew in her heart that this was the right decision. She didn’t know what was going to happen to Miguel. She didn’t know what was going to happen to Demetri, Sam, Aisha, Tory, or even Hawk. She knew nothing, except that she loved the boy sitting in the drivers’ seat more than she ever thought was possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And for Evelyn, that was enough.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as i enjoyed publishing it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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